Being a Big Brother
by Azumizai
Summary: DISCONTINUED :: Set Two Weeks after end of 2005 Movie, Wonka is finding he feels like family to Charlie, and he has big plans for them and the factory. But first, things must go wrong, and the press must get involved. Chapter Summaries Inside.
1. The Golden Pocket Watch

Edit 05-12-2010 : Testing editing and replacing chapters.

((**Disclaimer:** I do _not_ own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hello Again! Yes, I am back, and, as I promised, I am writing a full-length fanfiction about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 Moive of course!)

I'm not that great on super short summaries, so expect a short chapter summery at the beginning of each chapter. I always find them rather interesting.

I'd like to thank _everyone _that reviewed my shorter CatCF fic: _The Fifth Ticket Fraud_, and it really helped me to finish reading over and posting this fic. I may refer to it from time to time... but it was basically based off the movie. So, no worries there.

Also, at the end of each chapter, I may comment about it... plus, I may tell you about certain background things in the world I have created for this fic. Because, I like making up some Wonkaish stuff for the story to roll on.

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter One Summery - **Wonka has been living with Charlie for two weeks, and he has found that he had grown attached to the little boy. Searching these new feeling of caring, Willy Wonka decides to treat Charlie, and let him in on a plan that he hasn't let anyone else in on. Hold onto your top hats, because the glass elevator is going to wisk you off to a Chocolate Factory that is out of your dreams.

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**Chapter 1 - The Golden Pocket Watch**

It had been about two weeks since Charlie had re-accepted the prize, and had been living with the legendary Willy Wonka. Charlie had taken up residence in a glorious room near the Chocolate Waterfall and his family. Wonka, on the other hand, had continued to live in his hidden home, but came for dinner at the Bucket's every night since Charlie had accepted to live with him. He had only missed one dinner, and it was the night before's, Wonka had been planning something, and promptly forgot to come down.

At first, Wonka was worried about having Charlie in the factory, and he was terribly worried that Charlie's family would be living there too. But, after meeting them for a second, and more proper, time, he found them to be rather charming, and he renounced any bad feeling he had been having before. Wonka happily employed any of them that wished to work there, and found that Charlie's father offered readily to be in on the action. So, gladly, he gave Mr. Bucket a job repairing machines in the factory. It seemed that everything was working out beautifully, Wonka and Charlie couldn't be happier.

Though, sometimes, Wonka seriously doubted the fact.

Wonka sat in his Green-themed study with his head in his hands. He sighed deeply and with a ragged breath. Ever since he started to planing some changes, Ever since he started to plan wonderful things to do with Charlie, his flash backs started to come back more often and he started to remember things that he locked away. He started to remember things that he swore to forget.

_"Ooh look. Wonky Wonka has planned a birthday party." a young boy laughed. "What do you want for your birthday, a piece of Chocolate? Oh wait... you can't have any! 'cause Daddy said so!"_

_"Stop it, I didn't say I was going to invite you," said the young Willy Wonka firmly, glaring at the boy, "I was going to, I guess I'm not now."_

_The boy rounded on him, "you tryin' to threaten me? Is little Wonky Wonka gonna not invite me to his stupid party? Awww... to bad. I was so looking forward to going!"_

_Willy looked almost hopeful, "you were? Maybe I could invite..."_

_"Ah! Shut up! I was only lying to you! Sheesh! Don't pull your hopes up Wonky!" the boy said harshly. He then turned around shouting to the others, "listen to this everybody! Wonka has planned a birthday party! And he wants someone to come over!"_

_All the kids roared with laugher, excusing his friend, who said there scowling at the others._

_"Aww Wonky? Gonna have a teddy bear themed party?"_

_"How about I buy you a new set of braces? The ones you have aren't big enough."_

_"Lemme by you a new security blanket, it seems that you need a new one,"_

_All the children then began a horrid chorus:_

_"Willy Wonka is such an odd ball,_

_Willy Wonka is strange,_

_Willy Wonka standin' in the school hall,_

_Lookin' all deranged._

_Can't have chocolate 'cause daddy says so._

_Led him all astray._

_We just wish that he'd get up and go,_

_Just go hide away._

_Weirdo Wonka...  
Willy's Wonky"_

_"Be quiet! Be quiet!"_

"Be quiet!" Wonka said aloud, clutching his hair in his hands. "Just be quiet!" His own voice brought him back to the real world and he looked around the room, and let go of his hair. He suddenly realized what happened and he grinned nervously to no one in particular and stood up from his chair.

"Well, it seems like I got a little carried away," he said half heartily with a smile. "I think I should go and start my surprise... to keep my mind off some... certain things."

It was a rather beautiful morning, and was only 6 o'clock. But, Willy Wonka couldn't wait. He needed to show Charlie the things that he kept away from all the other children. The magnificent things and places that he needed Charlie to see. So, Wonka quickly placed a hat on his head, and picked out a very nice blue coat, that looked exactly like his red one, and put it on quickly overtop everything else. Shuffling to the door, he kicked off his slippers and jammed on his shoes. Taking his cane, Wonka walked into the Glass Elevator.

He hummed and playfully moved around, semi-dancing to his own song, as he pressed a button labeled: "Chocolate Waterfall". The elevator shot down magnificently and jettisoned to the right most abruptly. But, Wonka stayed rather still the whole way, and continued to hum as the elevator shot this-way and that to get to its new destination.

The Glass Elevator skidded to a stop, and Wonka glided happily out of it. He half dashed/half ran all the way towards the Bucket house, which was now in his Candy Meadow, and knocked on their door loudly and quickly.

Yawning, mumbling, and shuffling could be heard from inside the house, and Mrs. Bucket appeared from behind the Bucket door.

"I am oh so sorry if I have woken anyone up," Wonka said rather cheerfully, smiling wildly at Mrs. Bucket.

Mrs. Bucket yawned, "N-no. No. It's alright, no harm done." She looked at him questioningly while holding her hand to her mouth to yawn again.

Wonka stayed silent for a moment, still grinning, tilted his head and leant over, this-way and that, to see if Charlie was in the house at all. Wonka felt that he must have Charlie start right away, no matter what.

"Excuse me? Do you- Do you want something?"

Wonka looked at Mrs. Bucket as if she just appeared, and straightened up. "Oh! Yes, I was wondering if Charlie was here." In his head, he mentally scolded himself for not asking her in the first place. So, he kept his posture straight and grinned at her cheerfully, using his signature expectant smile.

"No. I don't think has woken up. I think he is still sleeping in that room you gave him."

Wonka's face dropped a bit, but he didn't stop smiling, "Oh. I see." He looked across the Meadow and at Charlie's door. His heart dropped, he really did so want to show Charlie something fantastic. But, now he had to wait.

He turned to leave when Mrs. Bucket stopped him, "Mr. Wonka, what do you need from Charlie? If you don't mind me asking."

Willy Wonka turned around, "oh! It's no trouble at all! You see," Wonka started explaining quickly, trying to get the encounter over with, using wild hand gestures, "I have only shown Charlie a little part of the factory. Also, I showed him most of the boring parts and…"

"Really?" Mrs. Bucket interrupted, startling Willy, "I think this factory is wonderful. Not boring at all."

Willy grinned at her nervously, he really didn't like to stay in too long contact with one of Charlie's P… well, you know.

"Thank you. Well, you see, if he is to gain my factory when he gets older, he has to see all the parts that are really special. You see? I can't have him running a factory that he doesn't know more-than-half about!" He shifted on his cane, looking back anxiously, wanting to leave.

"Oh, Mr. Wonka, Charlie would _love_ to. I'm sure he wouldn't mind for you to wake him up for something this important."

"You're right. This is very important, well, I better go and get him," Willy Wonka said quickly, and started to walk off, waving a 'goodbye' to Mrs. Bucket from behind his back. Willy Wonka found himself sighing deeply, happy over the fact that the conversation was finally over.

Wonka dashed across the Candy Meadow, rather quickly for a man with a cane, and he halted abruptly at Charlie's door. He stood there, wondering if he really should wake Charlie up, the last thing he wanted to do was make Charlie grumpy and not happy to see him. He wanted Charlie to be happy! He tried to bring himself to ring the bell on Charlie's room, and failed every time. He sighed and said to himself out loud, "Maybe I should wait to show Charlie."

"Show me what?" said a voice from behind Wonka and Willy jumped a mile. Clutching onto his hat and cane, looking rather flustered, he turned around to face Charlie.

"Oh," Wonka grinned and laughed nervously, "H-hello Charlie."

"Sorry Mr. Wonka," said Charlie, looking up at Willy, "I didn't scare you did I?"

"No, my dear little boy," Wonka grinned, lowering his hand from his hat, still grinning nervously. Wonka hated unexpected human contact, and it seemed to disturb and depress him quite a bit. "Of course not. I-I was just coming here because I have some things to show you."

_This is Charlie_, Wonka thought, _he didn't mean to_. Wonka shrugged it off as an accident, and remembered what he came there for in the first place.

"Show me? What do you want to show me Mr. Wonka?"

"Why! I want to show you some of the most magnificent things in this factory! I haven't even shown you less than half of what is here!" He spread his arms out widely, trying to make it seem really big and really important. Which it was, to Willy Wonka...

Wonka started grinning wildly again, and he grabbed the sleeve of Charlie's sweater, "Come on! Come on! We have oh so much to see!" And with that said, Willy Wonka started half dragging/half leading Charlie across the meadow and into the glass elevator. Charlie could swear that he heard Wonka's small laughing as he was lead/dragged, and he grinned in spite of himself.

"Oh I am so excited, yes I am. I can't wait to show you all the wonderful things I never showed any of the other children." Wonka talked in a fairly high-pitched tone (which usually arose when he was either exited or nervous), and he was grinning wildly. He looked down and took out his large key ring, and pulled out a small purple key. He pushed it into a keyhole at the very top right-most corner of the Elevator, and the Elevator went shooting upwards.

"Mr. Wonka, where are we going?"

"We, Charlie, are going to 'home' if you may call it that," Wonka said, grinning madly, straightening his hat. "I need to get some things, so I thought that there would be no harm done showing you where I live."

Willy Wonka was in fact a very private person and he hated to have his privacy to be interrupted by other people. That was one of the reasons why Wonka closed down his factory Fifteen Years ago. He felt like that those icky spies had invaded the privacy of his ideas and creations. And that was far enough Thankyou-very-much.

But, he trusted Charlie to not go snooping around in his home, so he would just have to take the chance, and invite Charlie in.

"Really Mr. Wonka? I would love to see your home!" Charlie said thoughtfully, "I bet it is just as wonderful as this factory."

Wonka said nothing, but he did look down at Charlie thoughtfully, and grinned. He really cared for this boy. Well, he consulted his Therapist-Loompa to see whether it was wrong to care for Charlie.

_"I just don't understand," Wonka said with a mild upset tone. "I feel horrible today. Absolutely horrible. I don't know why, I shouldn't be... but I do."_

_The Therapist-Loompa nodded, and wrote it down in his black notebook, and Willy continued, "today was a normal day, I went out to greet Charlie, before I went off to work on some things, and he looked horrible, so I suddenly felt horrible."_

_"So, I asked him what was wrong," Wonka said, staring up at the ceiling sadly._

_"He said that he was lonely, and I wandered around the factory too much to see him. For some reason... that hurt me, you know?" He pointed to his heart, "right here, it wanted to make me cry... it was like I cared for Charlie."_

_"So I am worrying. It's only been a little over a week since I have had Charlie living here... and... I feel that I care..."_

_"I care if he's happy or sad. I am worried when he's alone in my factory, and I want to comfort him when he's upset. I want to spend time with him whenever I can, and I just want to have plain fun with him."_

_"He's like a little brother to me..."_

_Wonka sat up like a rocket, "that's it!" He turned to the Therapist-Loompa, "How do you do that?"_

_The Therapist-Loompa shrugged, and grinned,_

He came to the conclusion, through the silence of the Therapist, that he cared for Charlie like a big brother. And he resolved to better act like one, because, Charlie had none. Once again, Wonka thanked the Oompa-Loompa for all of its insight, gave him extra coca-beans, and felt horribly better about the whole idea and came out in the end to treat Charlie like… dare he think it… family.

The Elevator stopped, and the doors opened to a magnificent Living Room. The walls and ceiling were a kind pale blue, and all of the furniture was colored a striking navy. Tall blue lamps stood in the corners of the room, giving off a glittering clear light.

Charlie looked at the Living Room with awe. He had never been in a Living Room quite like this. The Bucket's Living Room was a combination bedroom for his grandparents, and a dining room. But this was _huge._

"Do you like it Charlie? Oh, I knew you would… So do I." Willy Wonka grinned briefly, "Oh, put your shoes there."

Willy took off his own coat, and he hung it on the coat rack. He slid off his shoes, and put on a pair of slippers. "Stay here for a moment, make yourself comfortable, I'll be back in a second."

Wonka scooted out of the room, and Charlie stood there for a second, then took off his shoes. He made his way over to the large Navy couch and sat on it. He wondered if _all_ of Willy Wonka's rooms were so... huge, and so... blue.

Charlie thought, at first, that Wonka was more of a red person, but after looking at the different coats he wore day-to-day, he realized that Wonka was a very _colorful_ person indeed.

Charlie's gaze landed on the coat rack, and he stared at the vast amount of identical coats that Wonka had. All of them looked the same, except, they were all different colors. In fact, Wonka had one of every colour, plus three different hues of each. Charlie started to chuckle when he saw that Willy Wonka even had three different pink coats as well, and tried to imagine Willy wearing one of them. He realized, that Wonka seemed to favor his red, maroon, purple, and black coats the most, and he rarely wore any super-bright ones.

Willy came back into the room, arms full of random parcels and some large blue papers. He quickly glided over to the couch and dumped the load on the navy coffee table before sitting down. He started to sort them out quickly and silently, stacking the parcels together, the papers together, and grouping all of the bags together.

"I'd thought I'd give you something Charlie," said Wonka, while pulling a magnificently wrapped, but oddly shaped, parcel from the top of the pile. Wonka grinned madly, not being able to wait for Charlie to open it. He has spent a lot of time and money to find this present and he wanted it to be just perfect.

"Oh no sir, It's alright. You have already done enough."

Willy's face dropped for a moment, pulling back at the present. But, he grinned and held it back out for Charlie.

"Nonsense," Wonka said happily, "I missed your birthday, which was just a few days over three weeks ago. Now, if only I planned the whole ticket thing earlier, I would have been able to give this to you in time." Wonka held out the present in front of Charlie, edging for him to take it. "Think of it as a really late birthday present."

_"What a lame present Wonky. Why would I want one of those?"_

_"What did he give you?"_

_"A old-fashioned pocket watch, what a lame-o."_

_"Why would he give you one of those?"_

_"I don't know... maybe it's because he's weird."_

_"Yea... Weirdy Wonka. You should keep it for yourself... Weirdo."_

Charlie took it, and looked up at Wonka with wonder, but he frowned when he saw Wonka's face pulled down in sadness, his eyes glazed over and his brows knitted in concentration.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said while shaking Willy's arm, "Mr. Wonka, are you alright?"

The human contact startled Willy Wonka, bringing him back to reality, and he shouted in surprise, yanking his arm out of Charlie's grip. He blinked a couple of times, then placed on a fake grin, and laughed nervously.

"Sorry Charlie, I was just thinking."

Charlie gave him a questioning look, not really believing Willy Wonka. Which, made Wonka nervous, he didn't like it when people stared at him, so he quickly changed the subject back, "Well, go on," he gestured towards the present, "it's not like it's gonna unwrap itself!"

Charlie nodded and grinned, he started to pull the wrapping off of the present. As he took it off, he saw a glint of gold from behind the paper. From the parcel, he pulled out a magnificent golden pocket watch and chain and stared at it with awe.

Willy Wonka beamed down at him, "Do you like it Charlie?" Though, he worried inwardly that Charlie wouldn't like it. "It's just like mine," he continued, "I got mine when I was about your age, dreadfully handy. So, I thought that you needed one too."

"I love it. It's magnificent," Charlie said while fastening it to his pants, and tucking it into his pocket. And, without warning, Charlie hugged Willy Wonka.

Wonka looked startled and surprised, but didn't reject it completely. He grinned and wrapped his arms around Charlie, patting his back nervously. "Good," Wonka said happily, breaking the hug.

Willy Wonka leaned over and picked up a bag, handing it to Charlie, "here is something else too."

Charlie pulled out from the bag a set of lovely striped sweaters, and each of them was a different colour. It reminded Charlie of Willy's vast coat collection. "It's just like my sweater, but different colours!"

"Uh huh, I thought to myself, that you needed some more sweaters. So I got you some!" Wonka grinned happily, clasping his hands together, he was absolutely elated that Charlie liked his presents. He then helped Charlie pile the sweaters back into the bag. "I also got you a set of matching pants. Darker shades of course!"

Charlie grinned up at Wonka, "Thank you Mr. Wonka, these is the best birthday presents ever." Wonka's heart lifted at Charlie's comments. _Best_ birthday presents... _ever?_ He didn't know what to think... _Wow... that was... …weird. Best? Ever?_

Willy Wonka grinned thoughtfully at Charlie, and this wasn't even half of what he was going to give Charlie that day. He really felt that he needed to spoil Charlie (in a good way), so he would do it slowly. He couldn't wait to tell Charlie about his other plans, but he knew he must save that for later, so, he had to wait. As much as it was tearing him up inside with anxiousness.

Suddenly, an idea hit Willy, "I know! How about you pick out a shirt and a pair of pants and put them on, kay? I want to see how they fit!"

"Brilliant idea!" Charlie looked down in the bags containing the clothing, reaching in to grab a pair of pants and shirt. He tucked them away from Wonka, so he couldn't see, "I'll surprise you!"

Wonka laughed, "Okay... I understand," he pointed down the white-themed hall, "the bathroom is down the hall and to the right Charlie."

As Charlie was changing in Willy's bathroom, Willy Wonka got up and started to fold some of the blue papers and placed them in his pockets along with a strange brightly wrapped parcel. He strode over to the coat rack and picked a rather nice shady grass-green coat and put it on. Wonka then straightened the top hat on his head, made sure his purple rubber gloves were on tight, and grinned into the mirror beside the rack. At that point, Charlie came out of the hall wearing a pair of Deep Green pants, and a light green/shady green striped shirt.

Charlie laughed when he saw Wonka was wearing a coat with the same colour as his shirt. "Mr. Wonka," said Charlie while half chuckling, "we match."

Willy Wonka seemed amused with the idea as he pressed on his shoes and stepped into the elevator. "Come on! We have much to see, and much to do!"

Charlie put on his shoes and followed Wonka into the elevator. Willy nodded at Charlie and pointed, with his cane, at one of buttons at the lowest left corner. "Press that one Charlie."

"This one Mr. Wonka?" asked Charlie, kneeling down and pointing at the strange label-less button. "It's got no name."

"I know," Willy said, grinning. "It's a new button, I have been meaning to press it. So, why don't you? Go ahead."

"Press it."

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**Authors Thoughts** - This chapter was fun to write. But, actually, the beginning of the second chapter was the _ending_ of this chapter. But, I found it didn't fit were it was... and I moved it. When I first wrote this, I directly completed the second. So, when I re-wrote this chapter, I knew exactly what was going to happen next, I found that helped me quite a bit, and I suggest that you do it as well when you write. This chapter may not be that interesting, but, at least it opens up the story and feelings of the Wonka-crew. The next chapter will be a bit of a bumpy ride... especially for Wonka. (Ooops... did I type that out loud?)**  
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**Wonkaland Info -** Here I am, as promised, and I will give you some details about what I have added concerning Wonka's personal life.

So, I sat there, thinking to myself, Wonka needed a home to live in. It had to be in his factory, it had to be easy to get to, and it had to be secretive. So, why not have it so rather than push a button, he would insert a key so that only _he_ could get into it. That, basically explains it.

As for the coloured thing... I dunno... Just seemed Wonkaish. So... yeah. Hope you liked.

Also... what is that new button doing there? I'm not telling... you have to read the next chapter.

**Chapter Two Preview** - Wonka finally shows Charlie something, but, for some reason, it seems that he is covering up what he was _really_ planning to show him. But, before Willy Wonka can show him his wonderful plan... he has to deal with his Glass Elevator.

**Important Note: **Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually _read_ what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop).


	2. The Glass Elevator

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hello! Gasps I cannot believe I wrote all of this in less than twenty-four hours (had to babysit my five-year old sister at the same time... all day)! Heh, I hope your happy! 'Cause I did it for you readers out there, all of you fantastic reviewers. I love you gives you all a Wonka Bar. And as I promiced, I'll give you some of my Wonkaland info and other fun things at the end of the chapter!

**Warning**: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Two Summery** – A Mysterious nameless button has been urging Wonka to press it ever since he installed it. But, once he presses it, everything goes down from there. Charlie and Willy Wonka have to battle out fears, and taste candies, it is only the beginning of a very different day…**  
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**Chapter 2 - The Glass Elevator **

Willy Wonka grinned down at Charlie. "Press it," he said with a certain tone of childish mischief. He enjoyed seeing the look of wonder of Charlie's face, it reminded Wonka of himself at Charlie's age.

Charlie looked back down to the button then pressed it and stood up. At first, the button did nothing. So, they stood there for several seconds, without going anywhere at all.

"Don't worry, it's a new track," Wonka explained, "put in last week, the Elevator is always slow whenever a new track is put in."

"New track, Mr. Wonka? Is there a new room on the Factory?"

"You could say that." Wonka grinned wildly at Charlie, and said no more. This, made Charlie even more curious before. He also had a feeling that it was Willy's intention to get him very curious. Willy Wonka was strange that way.

_"What's this Willy?" said Willy Wonka's friend, pointing at the paper Willy was working on._

_Willy quickly covered up the sheet of paper, and grinned up at his friend, "Nothing..." he said, in a not-so-innocent voice._

_"Oh common Willy, don't play games with me. I just want to see."_

_Willy considered this for a moment, then looked at his friend seriously, "you promise not to tell a soul?"_

_"Promise."_

_"Oh... Okay then, this is a design for an Elevator," Willy replied, turning over the paper and scribbling down more information._

_"An Elevator?"_

_"Yea, I plan for it to not only go up and down, but to go sideways too!"_

_"Wow, that's a really good idea Willy! You'd be famous if you invent that!"_

_"Really?"_

_"Yea! Of course, you're brilliant! I'll bet you'll be famous one day! I promise not to tell a soul. Nobody."_

_"Nobody?"_

_"Nobody."_

Suddenly, and without any forewarning, the elevator jolted diagonally downwards, snapping Wonka out of his memory. This also took Charlie by surprise and he fell over. Evidently, it took Willy by surprise as well, because he was also on the floor of the elevator, looking rather shocked, and his hat was askew.

The elevator then sharply went in a completely different direction rather rapidly, and Charlie hit his head on the side of the Elevator wall. It reversed directions again, and Charlie slid across the Elevator and into Willy Wonka.

Wonka grabbed onto Charlie, to keep him from sliding away, he started thinking wildly of what was wrong with the Elevator, and why it was treating them as if they weren't there. If fact, he was thinking so hard, that he completely forgot he was in the Elevator in the first place.

Charlie grabbed onto Willy Wonka's coat as they were tossed around in the Glass Elevator. He looked up, and saw Wonka's concentrated expression, he heard him mumble, "you're right," lightly under his breath. He shook Willy.

"Mr. Wonka!" Willy heard in the distance, he also seemed to be feeling something shaking him, "Mr. Wonka!"

Willy Wonka's head hit the side of the Elevator, and he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Wonka! What's wrong with the Elevator?" Charlie exclaimed as he grasped tighter onto Willy's coat.

"I don't know, it seems that the Elevator is a little confused," said Wonka, finally fully back into the real world.

He braced himself and Charlie as the Elevator went jeering off in another direction with a harsh snap and Wonka (with Charlie) slid into the opposite wall. He thought, though that was hard when you went shooting off in different directions every few seconds, of how to get the Elevator to stop acting... weird.

"Wait!" said Wonka, finally an idea getting into his head, "I know!"

Willy Wonka let one hand let go of Charlie, and grabbed his cane from the ground. Then, trying with all his might, he started jabbing the cane at the lower buttons of the Elevator. Trying to press the Nameless Button again.

His idea was that, if the Elevator was confused of where to go, so, he might as well remind it of its destination and hopefully, that would work. Finally, his cane hit the button, the Elevator glided to a stop, and then calmly reversed directions and started on it's way silently towards it's destination.

Charlie and Wonka both sighed in relief and stood up, Willy Wonka brushed himself off, and then turned to Charlie, and brushed him off. "That was really _weird_," Wonka said with mild confusion and amusement, flicking the last bit of dust off of Charlie. "I better get my Oompah-Loompa's to fix that right away." He turned around, looking out the side of the Elevator.

He then turned towards Charlie abruptly, "are you OK? I saw you bump your head back there." He leaned down over Charlie, seemingly glancing over Charlie's head.

"I'm fine Mr. Wonka, I'm just glad that the Elevator has stopped being strange," grinning up at Willy, "but, thanks for asking."

They stayed silent for the last couple seconds of the trip, Wonka thinking to himself diligently, as the Elevator glided into a doorway and opened up.

The room they walked into was not very much like a room at all. It looked rather uncompleted, and it had a large circular hole in the floor. Charlie guessed this was for something to go into. He wondered, because there were railings only guarding half of it.

The whole of the room was circular and fairly small, its walls were painted white, and some uncompleted counters stood opposite the Elevator, and across the odd hole. Willy grinned nervously and walked around almost pressing himself on the wall, trying at all costs to avoid looking at the three-story drop only a couple of meters away from him.

Charlie looked around it in confusion, while following Willy, "what room _is_ this, Mr. Wonka?"

"Well," started Willy, "It's not exactly a _room,_ persey, it's more of a entry... An uncompleted entry," Wonka added looking at the missing railings, it looked almost if there was going to be a set of stairs placed in the three-story hole. He then turned his glance away and coughed.

"But, I can't tell you about that yet," he added, looking at Charlie's expectant face. "I came here to show you something really neat." Wonka said and he clapped his hands together happily.

Charlie then realized that on the counter-tops were several glass bowls filled with what looked like pea-sized white marbles all the way up to fist-sized white marbles. "What are those?"

"This," Wonka said excitingly, walking over to the counter and picking one up, "is a Super-Coloured-Super-Flavoured Jawbreaker."

"Is it one of the ones that lasts forever?" Charlie asked, walking up behind him, causing Wonka to jump slightly and turn around.

"No. Well, it does something even better!" He placed the one he had earlier back in the bowl and he picked up a good medium sized one that was alone in another bowl, "here, I made this one for you. Go on! Try it!"

Charlie took the Jawbreaker from Wonka and looked up at him, not sure whether to try it or not, sometimes, Wonka's candy did... unexpected things. Wonka then started to make motions as if he was Charlie licking the Jawbreaker and grinned expectantly, nodding.

So, Charlie licked it. Suddenly, he tasted the most wonderful mint in the world in his mouth. "This is _wonderful_".

"Heh. I knew you'd like it! I knew you would!" Willy said with a smile, "now, look at it, look at it!"

Charlie looked down, and saw that were he licked on the Jawbreaker, it looked as if someone had taken a red paintbrush and painted directly on it with, one, solid stroke. "This is amazing."

"You see? Every lick you take, will be a totally random colour! _I_ don't even know what the next one will be! Go ahead, take another lick!" Willy looked at him excitingly, gripping onto his cane.

Charlie nodded and took another lick, a thick taste of Chocolate filled his mouth when he did so. "It changed, Chocolate!" Also, the new lick he had done was a vibrant highlighter blue.

"Yea! Amazing isn't it? It changes flavors with every lick too!" Wonka grinned happily. "I actually invented that by mistake when I put the formula for the Three-Course-Meal-Gum into the Everlasting-Jawbreaker machine." Willy always felt particularly proud of himself when he made something very different. Even if it was by mistake. "At first it was weird, almost gross..."

Looking rather concerned, Charlie looked at his hands to see if they had changed colour at all, and he rubbed his nose to be sure it didn't swell up. Wonka looked at Charlie with confusion over Charlie's strange behavior. But, then he remembered the strange incident concerning Violet Beauregaurde.

Willy Wonka started laughing, "don't worry! I have had these tested over and over, and _nothing_ is wrong with it! So enjoy."

Charlie took another couple of licks that consisted of Vanilla, Cherry and Butterscotch. The Jawbreaker itself now had a: red, highlighter blue, yellow, black and green splotches on it. Wonka grinned at Charlie happily, he felt that he accomplished something great that day. He didn't know what it was, but he felt good about it.

He stopped licking because a loud grinding noise was heard suddenly from the Elevator, so Wonka and Charlie whipped around to see what was causing it.

"That's _weird_," Wonka said while looking at the groaning Elevator.

Willy stared at it for several moments before saying, "Don't worry about it Charlie, I think we'll just take the stairs back out of here." Wonka added, without looking back at Charlie, "Could you pick up the bowl of small Jawbreakers? I need to bring them to another room."

Charlie nodded and walked over to the table with some of the small Jawbreakers and picked up the glass bowl. Wonka on the other hand, continued looking at the Elevator with slight concern. Wonka was more concerned about the Elevator than he let on. He also didn't want Charlie to get wrapped up in his problems, so he quickly changed the subject to keep Charlie's mind away. The Elevator had _never_ acted up like that. Never had it jeered around like they were just sacks of potatoes, and never had it started to groan angrily as if it was going to drop.

"What is wrong with my Glass Elevator?" Wonka said under his breath, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

The Elevator groaned again, and Charlie turned around with the bowl in hand, and he leaned himself against the railing and looked across the room to stare at the Elevator, then he glanced over to Wonka.

"Mr. Wonka? What's wrong with the Elevator?" he asked, also looking rather confused.

"I don't know Charlie... I don't kn.-"

Suddenly, the Elevator shot downward in a mad rush and like pulling back a syringe, the air rushed towards it in a large fury.

The sudden rush of air took Charlie by surprise and he tipped over the edge of the short railing. Charlie and the bowl toppled over the railing, and towards the three-story drop below.

It all happened very slowly to Charlie, the air rushing past his ears, feeling himself starting to fall over the edge, dropping the bowl. As he just started to fall, he heard someone behind him shout, "Charlie!"

He heard mad footsteps running, and then, something grabbed him around his waist and pulled him close to itself, wrapping its arms around him. Who, and whatever it was, was falling with him now, and Charlie closed his eyes in fear, grabbing onto what was holding him tightly.

Wonka was rather shocked of what he did. He _hated _heights, didn't like the look of them. When he grabbed onto Charlie, he looked down at the long drop. His head started to feel light, and Willy Wonka, the great chocolateteir, fainted, only moments before he hit the ground.

Wonka hit the ground sideways, let go of Charlie limply, and Charlie rolled out of his loosened grip. Charlie lay there for several moments, gasping, in shock of what happened. It was hard for him to think, but he lay there for several minutes, trying to work out exactly what happened. He realized, that he wasn't hurt at all, and whoever caught him and protected him, saved his life.

Charlie was in wonder of who saved him.

_"Charlie!" _He recalled.

He knew that voice, and he felt his heart jump up in his throat in fear. "Mr. Wonka!" he shouted, and he quickly stood up and turned to the side.

Laying on the ground in front of Charlie Bucket, was, the one and only, Willy Wonka. He was on his front, with his right arm folded underneath him along with his cane. His eyes were closed, and he was clearly not very conscious at all.

Charlie's eyes widened in horror, and he scrambled down towards Wonka.

"Mr. Wonka! Mr. Wonka!" Charlie shouted, shaking Willy.

Everything felt so very hazy to Willy Wonka, but, everything was also coming back to him. The Elevator, the fall, the height, the... _Charlie! _ Wonka's eyes snapped open, and he saw Charlie looking at him with a worried expression.

"Wh-wha...?" Wonka managed to say, looking up at Charlie, but didn't move. Wonka felt a wave of relief wash through him when he saw that Charlie was fine.

"Mr. Wonka? Are you all right? You fell really far," Charlie asked, placing his hand on Willy's left shoulder.

"I-I think so... I haven't moved yet, so I don't know," Willy then tried to get up, but found that his right arm stung horribly, and, he fell right back down again, hissing in pain, "ow," he said, "Gosh Darnit."

"Here Mr. Wonka, let me help you," Charlie said, while helping Willy get into a sitting position.

Willy then cradled his right arm in his left. "Ow," he said again, "as much fun as it was, Charlie, let's not do that again, Kay?"

"Mr. Wonka, let me see your arm," Charlie said, holding his hand out to Wonka.

Willy held his arm closer, and looked at Charlie accusingly. Was Charlie going to touch his arm? What did he want with it? "What do you want to do?" he asked, turning his glance towards Charlie's outstretched arm, eyebrows raised.

Charlie sighed, "I want to see if it's broken or not. 'Cause, if it is, you will need so see a doctor."

"Ew," Willy said, "I hate doctors... almost as much as P... P... P..."

"Parents? And, I thought you got over that."

"I did, I like _your_ family don't I? I don't have to like all of them!" Wonka defended, trying to keep the conversation on the way of parents, and not how injured he really was.

"Mr. Wonka! Stop trying to change the subject, and let me see your arm!" Charlie said rather loudly and with a slightly annoyed face. Obviously, trying to negotiate normally with Wonka wasn't going to work out. So Charlie, as much as he didn't want to, had to shout at Willy Wonka.

Willy looked at Charlie, with his eyes narrowed, then, he reluctantly let go of his right arm, and lent forward towards Charlie. He closed his eyes, not daring to look at what Charlie was going to do. Even though his face was turned away, he opened one eye out of curiosity.

Charlie sighed and shook his head, then, he carefully took Wonka's arm in his hand, and started to pull up Wonka's sleeve. He only managed to pull it up a quarter of the way, not wanting to hurt Wonka, and because he had seen enough. Willy Wonka's arm was red, and was starting to swell. Charlie pulled the sleeve back over Wonka's arm.

"So? What's wrong with me?" Wonka said, face still tilted away, eye still watching. "Is it bad? Will you have to... ...amputate?"

"No, don't be silly," Charlie said, "but, I'm pretty sure it's broken."

Wonka pulled back his arm and went back to cradling it. He then realized that he has never had a broken limb before. In fact, Wonka hasn't broken _anything_ before. So, this sensation was rather new to him.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said, breaking Willy out of his trance, "how come you aren't that badly hurt? It _was_ a three story fall."

"I dunno... what's supposed to happen when you fall that far?"

"I hear that most people die."

"I'm not dead?"

"No."

"Well... I don't know then."

"Does anything else hurt?" Charlie said, getting up to examine Willy closer.

Wonka thought for a moment, then responded, "yes. My leg."

Charlie frowned, looking down, "that's not good. I'm sorry Mr. Wonka."

_Sorry? Why is Charlie sorry? _Willy thought,_ Charlie didn't do anything wrong, and is... ...and is Charlie worried? _Wonka shifted a bit on the spot uncomfortably as the numbness he was feeling as an aftershock started to fade, and the pain was setting in.

He turned to Charlie who was looking down sadly, eyes starting to turn red, "Charlie?" he said, not sure of what to do. Wonka saw a tear fall onto the steel ground and this startled him quite a bit. "Ch-Charlie?"

Slowly Charlie started to cry, and Wonka had no idea what to do. "Shh..." Wonka took his left hand and patted Charlie's back nervously, "shh... look. I'm okay...ish. Well, I'm not dead at least…"

Charlie continued to sob, and Wonka was utterly confused, he had _no_ idea how to deal with a crying child and most certainly not a crying Charlie. He heard from a small whimper from Charlie, "I could have killed you Mr. Wonka... I should have been more careful."

_Was that it? It was an accident! _Wonka thought, eyes wide, _It was an accident! Charlie cannot be blaming himself! _Wonka knew what he had to do, and no matter how awkward it was going to be, he had to. A big brother would.

Slowly and nervously, Wonka took his left hand and pulled Charlie up close to him and rubbed his side, "Shh... Charlie, it's Ok. It wasn't your fault." He rested his cheek on the top of Charlie's head, looking down towards him. "Ok? I don't want you to go around blaming yourself."

He found his voice becoming smaller and he said more to himself than to Charlie, "it hurts me... more than my arm, or my leg... I don't want you to be sad..."

"Mr. Wonka I-"

"Gosh Darnit Charlie! It's not your fault, Kay? So stop saying that it is!" He gave Charlie a fake menacing glare, then one of his signature giggles, ruffling up Charlie's hair, "so smile, and forget your worries!"

Charlie looked up and he couldn't help but grin, here was Willy Wonka hurt, but grinning like a mad man. Who couldn't catch his playful smile?

"Now," Wonka said, a few minutes after sitting there, calming Charlie down. Reaching for his cane, he said, "let's get out of here. It's starting to creep me out!"

With some help from Charlie, Willy Wonka managed to stand up, and he looked around the room wildly. "Oh dear... I wasn't supposed to show you this yet."

"You were going to show me _this_?" Charlie said, looking around the large steel room.

"Too bad. I'll explain later," Willy said, turning away from Charlie, "but first, I wanna get out of here!"

"Yea, we can take you to a Doctor."

"Ew. Not that again," Wonka said scrunching up his face, "let's just go."

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**Authors Thoughts** – Well, the beginning of this chapter was indeed the original ending of the last (a bit edited by now of course). Also, the original ending for this chapter would have almost turned the story in a completely different direction. Also, it didn't fit the story at all anyway, so, I'm happy it went… personally. I hope you all liked it, and I will explain (in the next chapter) what Willy Wonka is up to. Sometimes, I feel he is too sneaky for even me. 

**Wonkaland Info** - Here I am, as promised, and I will give you some details about some things I added to Wonkaland.

The nameless button? What is it? I dunno… well, I do, but I can't tell you. You'll have to read it for yourselves.

Super-Coloured-Super-Flavoured Jawbreaker – Yea… It actually occurred in a strange dream of mine. Thought it was very Wonkaish indeed. So, naturally, I used it…

The Strange Entry and Steel Room? It is connected to the button. But I'm not telling. So there, read the next chapter.

_Clue: _Re-read the first chapter... you may accually understand what Willy is up to. That's all I'm saying.

**Chapter Three Preview** – Wonka and Charlie need to find there way out of the Steel room, and need to get Wonka to a Doctor. Of course, Willy Wonka isn't going to make that easy, now is he?

**To the Past Reviewers**: Thankyou all so much, you are the soul reason why I managed to update this chapter so bleeping fast. Thankyou, you made my day today.

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop).


	3. Camera Flashes

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hi! I'm sorry that this is a day late. Well, the reason is, the last two chapters had templates or huge chunks to build off of, this one however, I had nothin'. So I had to write it all from ground up. Well, it was fun and I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, I bought yesterday Two Wonka posters. One that is alot like the Moive Poster, and another that had Wonka in the TV room. Hehe... It's so cool. I also found in the bottom of my drawer one of my nighties... it had pink fluffy sheep allover it. My sister thought I was crazy when I burst out laughing rolling on the floor. I will also soon, (tomorrow), get a good re-fresh of Wonka in my head, my mother is going to take me to see the Movie with my sister again. Yay! It will be my 3rd time! woot

All the typical junk will be on the bottom.

**Warning**: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Three Summery** – Wonka and Charlie are stuck in a room without a way to get out. All though, Wonka seems to know a way. Plus, what is this mysterious huge field (I mean... HUGE) doing behind the factory? And what does Wonka have against the Doctor? Is the the Doctor himself... or somthing else?

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**Chapter 3 - Camera Flashes**

The strange steel room loomed over Wonka and Charlie. Wonka turned around, several times, and then laughed awkwardly. It seemed that Willy Wonka had miscalculated one simple thing... the only _visible_ way out of the room was the Elevator and the Elevator was conveniently broken. So, Wonka and Charlie were rather "stuck".

"Mr. Wonka, what's Wrong?" Charlie asked, wiping his face. He turned and looked around the room as well and saw the vacant Elevator Shaft. It reminded him of the fact that the Elevator was broken. "Oh," he said, "Now what do we do?"

"What we do, Charlie, is ruin a little bit of my surprise," said Wonka. His voice had a slight amount of disappointment in it. "Though, I cannot remember where I put it."

Willy then started to make his way across the room, with much help by his cane, and Charlie. He stopped in front of the wall and, nearly pressing his face against it, looked at the wall diligently. Willy knew he had a hidden doorway _somewhere_, it even led to the outside of the factory. The one problem was, it was hidden, and he forgot where he had put it in the first place.

"Charlie, I want you to help me find a hidden doorway," Wonka said while moving across the wall and staring at a long seam of steel. "Umm, it's a doorway, it should open and close, and it's erm... hidden."

"Mr. Wonka, how do I find it if it's hidden?"

"I dunno, you're a smart little boy, you'll find a way."

For the next ten minutes, Wonka and Charlie looked like idiots as they pressed their faces against the walls, looking for a hidden doorway. The doorway, in fact, was so hidden, that Wonka was starting to doubt its existence entirely. So, after ten minutes of looking, he called the search off.

"Maybe I'm thinking of a different room," Wonka said with light exasperation, "or I'm thinking of what I'm _planning _to do."

"Planning, sir?"

Wonka looked at Charlie and put on a grin, "nothing, Charlie, nothing." Wonka leant against the wall, "just ignore what I sa-" Click. Creeeeek. "-oof!".

Wonka had indeed found the hidden door, when he leaned himself on the wall, he had mysteriously unlocked and opened it, sending himself towards the snowy ground outside. "-said."

Charlie dashed over to Willy Wonka and helped him up. "It looks like you found it Mr. Wonka."

"Yea," Wonka said, looking around, brushing himself off with his left arm, which was no use, it was snowing very heavily and every time he brushed himself off, new snow would replace it self kindly.

Willy then remembered that they were _outside_, thus meaning they were closer to the Doctors. He needed to think of some way to get Charlie's mind off of the Doctors.

"It's snowing really hard," Wonka said, looking towards the sky, "I think that we need to inside the front... yea. Wouldn't wanna catch a cold."

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said, crossing his arms and looking at him with a raised eyebrow, "you're not trying to get out of going to the doctor, are you?"

Willy Wonka laughed nervously and turned away from Charlie, frowning. "No..."

"Come on Mr. Wonka, I think the doctor is more important."

"Nuh uh! Know why? 'Cause they're icky and I don't like them... That's why!" Wonka said, pointing his nose in air and looking down at Charlie with raised eyebrows in a very childish way.

Charlie was going to respond when; he suddenly realized where he was. He never remembered seeing the back of the factory with such a large space behind it. Or rather, he had never _been_ to the back of the factory, Willy Wonka made sure of that. The space behind it was huge, it was at least one-half times _bigger_ than the factory itself. He had to squint to see all the way to the tall fences on the other end.

"Mr. Wonka... what does this big space _do_?" Charlie said, still squinting into the distance and thinking, _Wow_ - _another factory - could fit here. I wonder, is this part of Mr. Wonka's plans?_

"Oh... this? Er, it's _extra_ space. Just incase, you know?" Wonka said grinning nervously, "you never know when you need a _huge_ space. Always need to be prepared."

"Oh," Charlie said, not sure whether to believe Willy or not. Willy Wonka is a strange man. Sometimes he would say something utterly ridiculous, but it would turn out to be the truth, and others, he would say something very serious, and be lying inside out. Sometimes... he would just say something for the heck of saying it, this made it very hard to tell whether Willy Wonka was serious or not.

"I see," Charlie continued.

Charlie then had a magnificent idea. He would _trick_ the information out of Wonka. He felt that Wonka's minor lack of modesty would give all the information Charlie needed. "Oh, I _see_," Charlie repeated, placing his hands behind his back, and looked over the empty space with a slightly judging look. "That's_ it_?"

Wonka turned around, "What do you mean, 'that's it'?" Wonka bent over to Charlie's height and looked at him with questioning.

"Well," Charlie said, starting to walk around a little, "I don't see the point in having such a large field, for just... 'Safety reasons'... or to be 'prepared'. It's a rather waste of space, is it not? All of this is… Well, it's rather... _inefficient._"

"Inefficient? Let me tell you, _little boy_, that I am _never_ inefficient, and in fact, this space is actually being used for-" Wonka stopped, then glared at Charlie.

"Yes?" Charlie leaned in closer to Wonka with an expectant face, "_yes_?"

Wonka then started laugh and ruffled Charlie's hair. "I knew why I picked you! You are oh so smart, and oh so clever. But, not as clever as me, I daresay." He laughed again, "You almost tricked me."

Wonka was in wonder of Charlie, never had he seen a boy, at Charlie's age, think up a way to get information out of him. Well, never had he seen _any_ body get even close to what Charlie managed. This 'little boy' was quick, and he made a mental note to keep up his guard around Charlie.

Charlie frowned and Wonka could hear him mutter, in a very Wonkaish way, "Gosh Darnit." This only caused Wonka to grin wider.

Wind picked up a large amount of snowflakes and it blew sideways into Willy and Charlie's faces. Charlie covered his face, and Wonka pulled down his hat. They both then started to walk. Charlie took it up as his duty to help Wonka to do so, by letting Wonka support his weight on Charlie, as well as the cane.

"Let's go inside, and have a nice cup of my famous Vanilla-Hot-Coca," Willy said, as another cold blast hit is face.

"As much fun it would be, you need to see a doctor."

"Ew."

"Not _that_ again."

"What do you want me to say? Something more creative? Okay, how about... _Gross_, or _vile_, or _disgusting_, _not_-_in_-_my_-_lifetime_, or _I'd_-_rather_-_die_, or-"

"I get the idea."

"Good."

"We're still going."

"Darn it."

While they walked around the factory, Charlie put much of his energy into persuading the Chocolatier to go to the Doctors. He tried everything, to making him feel better, to it being warmer inside. '_I can do that myself.' _and '_it's warmer in the factory... remember?'_, were his responses. So, as they walked, Charlie felt confused of what to say.

Then it hit him, not literally, but you get the idea. "They're not like dentists," he started, "after you visit them, they give you candy."

Wonka stopped and turned his gaze down towards Charlie, "candy?"

"Yea," Charlie said, with an amount of added dreaminess, then he looked serious. "But, not very good candy."

They started to walk again, "really?"

"Yea, they don't have anyone to suggest what to give."

Wonka continued to walk, with help by Charlie, and thought this over. He looked down at Charlie, wondering whether this was another little ploy to trick him to doing something he didn't want to do. But, then again... Charlie did look serious about the matter. He _was_ his apprentice and Wonka _did_ tell him to find ways to make candy better...

"Fine," Wonka said with a small hint of defeat, scrunching up his face, "I'll go to your stupid... Doctor."

Charlie grinned happily up at Wonka, and Willy suddenly had the smallest feeling that he had been tricked by the small boy.

Willy Wonka and Charlie, after a good fifteen minutes of walking made it to the front gates. Charlie looked up at Wonka, and Willy sighed, taking out his keys and opening the door.

Wonka felt nervous the moment the gates behind him closed, and were locked again. As he walked with Charlie down the street, he felt a strange coolness wash through him and it wasn't the snow. He saw people stare and gasp pointing at him. He, knowing, that they were wondering what happened to the 'famous Willy Wonka'.

He heard mutterings, and he cringed, he swore that he saw a camera flash...

_-FLASH-... -FLASH-FLASH- Camera's took pictures of young Willy and his father._

_A reporter stood up to them, and pushed Willy aside, talking to Dr. Wonka, "Mr. Wonka... What is it like to be the one of the first Dentists in this area to invent a smaller form of braces?"_

_"Well, I noticed that some people couldn't afford the bigger ones... and I thought 'smaller ones are better than none at all!' "_

_Willy Wonka glowered as his father spoke, his father had managed to find a way to straighten teeth without the use of too much headgear._

_"And what about your son? Are you going to give him the smaller ones?"_

_Willy looked up at his father hopefully, he really did want to look like much more normal boy. Not some... metal monster._

_"No. These are far more efficient than the smaller ones. The smaller they are the cheaper they may be, but also the less the job it will make. I want my son to get the -best-" He grabbed onto Willy's shoulders, grinning down at him expectantly, "isn't that right Willy?"_

_"Yes father..."_

_More reporters crowded around Willy and Dr. Wonka._

_"Mr. Wonka..."_

_"Mr. Wonka?"_

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, looking up at Willy, who had stopped dead in the street. "Mr. Wonka? Are you alright?"

Willy shook himself, and glanced around, "y-yea, sorry, I was just remembering..."

Another camera flash, and Wonka jumped. "Charlie, let's just go."

Charlie nodded, and continued to help Wonka with making his way to the Doctors. He felt, that he needed to get Wonka up and away from those nasty reporters, out of the cold, and to the Doctor as quick as he could.

"Finally," Charlie sighed, and he let go of Wonka to open the door for him, "we're here."

Wonka limped only up to the doorway and stopped, not wanting to venture any father than that. The waiting room was starch white, and the chairs were white as well. Even the pictures on the wall were plain and boring, using light shades of pastels. The counter, which was also white, had a young woman sitting there typing madly on the computer and she too, was wearing white.

Wonka looked very out of place there, and Charlie had to push him a little just so he could close the door behind him.

"Ch-Charlie, maybe we should... just go... I don't think they need any candy advice or anything..." Wonka eyed to room nervously, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"Mr. Wonka..." Charlie said, looking at him with his hands on his hips. "We are here, so you might as well get looked at."

The woman at the computer looked up briefly then turned back to her work. It was only a couple seconds later did she realize that there was a injured Willy Wonka standing at the doorway. She double took. Standing up, she rushed over to Wonka and Charlie.

"Mr. Wonka, what brings you here?" she said, looking at him, noting mentally the way his carried his right arm and leg.

"I was just looking," Wonka looked around the room as if he was inspecting it, "well, everything seems in order, so... goodbye!" Wonka tried to make his get away, turning around sharply to leave.

Charlie stopped Wonka from going, and turned him back around to facing the Clerk.

"Mr. Wonka has fallen down a very long way, and I think he has broken his arm, and injured his leg. Could I get a Doctor to check on him immediately?" Charlie explained quickly, and said it with a note of urgency in his voice.

"Right away sir," she said, referring more to Wonka than Charlie. She then dashed down the small white hall, and into a room.

Wonka grinned in nervous way as they stood there, his eyes darted around the room, and he looked at the other sick and/or injured people. His face crinkled to one of disgust, and he shifted slightly to the left, and turned his face away from them. He also started to hum nervously, and inwardly hoped that no one would notice him.

"It's Willy Wonka," said a young boy pointing, "look Mum! It's Willy Wonka! Right here!"

The mother looked up towards Willy and grinned, then turned to face her son, "Yes James, though, I wonder... Nobody has _ever_ seen him outside his factory."

"Really Mum? I must be special!"

Wonka turned away from the two having the conversation, he was starting to get lightheaded again, he never did like large crowds... Made him very nervous. He started to hum louder now, trying to keep his mind off of the mutterings from the people pointing and gaping at him.

Wonka bent down, starting to feel dizzy, "Charlie, where is this Doctor?"

Charlie shrugged, "I dunno, sometimes it takes awhile."

"I thought you said _right away_," Wonka said with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"I did, but it still takes awhile. He has to probably finish up with another patient." Charlie looked closer at Willy Wonka, he could tell that Wonka wasn't enjoying the mass publicity and he was also starting to look paler than normal.

Wonka turned his gaze away from Charlie, and he saw almost everyone looking at him now, they would turn now and again to mutter something to whoever was sitting beside them. He turned his stare away from them, and saw that people were gathering at the windows, pointing and staring at him. Again, the dizziness started to overwhelm Wonka, and he looked down.

"_Charlie..." _Wonka half wined, his head starting to spin. "I'm not feeling too great now..."

Charlie looked up at him with concern, "maybe you should sit down Mr. Wonka," motioning for him to sit down in the chair beside him.

"Kay..." Wonka said, turning paler, blobs of colour and light started to blur his vision.

Wonka opened his eyes, and found he was staring into the face of a Fifty-Year-old man wearing all white. He shouted with surprise and sat upright abruptly, nearly falling off of the table he was laying on.

"Mr. Wonka, calm down," said the man, who pushed Willy back down again.

Wonka then realized that he wasn't in the waiting room anymore, he seemed to be lying on an examination table. He thought for a moment, _how did I manage to get here so quickly? _He looked up at the man that was holding him down. He was tall and he resembled his father to a terrifying degree. He even wore glasses that were nearly identical... and his beard... creepy. Even the man's voice had a 'no-foolishness' sound, just like his fathers.

Wonka shivered, and took the man's hand off of his chest, saying with light annoyance and disgust, "don't touch." Wiping his hand on his green coat afterwards.

"Mr. Wonka, do you know where you are?" The man asked, still towering above him.

"No. But I am not where I was before," Wonka stated, being rather annoyed with such a stupid question, "and I don't know how I got here, and I don't know where _here_ actually is. So, no.."

The man, who Wonka finally guessed as the Doctor, raised his eyebrow. "I see. You _fainted_ Mr. Wonka. In my waiting room."

"Really? Did I?" he asked laughing half-heartedly, suddenly remembering the horrid feeling of people watching and staring at him, he shuttered, remembering them.

The Doctor pointed to Charlie who was sitting on a chair near the examination table, "This young lad here told me that you had fallen. Where did you fall Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka thought for a moment, then stated with a grin, "I don't remember."

"You don't... remember?"

"Nope."

"Well then. How far did you fall?"

"I dunno, far."

Charlie started to giggle slightly, Mr. Wonka always held very strange conversations with people, and to listen to them is very entertaining indeed. But, he felt sorry for the man so he then said for Wonka, "I think it was about three-stories."

"_Three_-stories? That is a very long way to fall," the Doctor said, writing something on a clipboard he had in his hand. "You're lucky you weren't killed."

"A lot of people have been saying that."

"Really?" The Doctor then started to sit Willy Wonka up, and leant him against the wall. "I think we should check the extent of your injures and treat them."

"You use really big words... don't you?" Wonka suddenly said with a wide childish grin.

"Yes Mr. Wonka," said the Doctor, sighing with annoyance wondering why this man became so famous. He was like a child that never had, and never will grow up, and this particular Doctor didn't like children very much at all. He turned to Charlie, "I think you should leave while I check Mr. Wonka."

"B-but... I want him to be here," Wonka wined, looking at the Doctor with big eyes.

Charlie smiled as he opened the door to leave, "No worries Mr. Wonka, if anything happens, I'll be outside of the door."

Wonka made this weird whining noise like dog and looked at Charlie with pleading.

"Sorry Mr. Wonka... Doctor's orders."

"Fine," Willy tried to cross his arms with annoyance. But then, he pulled back, "owwie..."

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**Authors Thoughts**– Well, this was fun to write, and I enjoyed writing Wonka alot. Yeah, I know... alot of talking in this one... but, I felt we needed it. The next one will be proberally more... discriptive. My personal favorite lines in this one are: "Nuh uh! Know why? 'Cause they're icky and I don't like them... That's why!" - Wonka and "You use really big words... don't you?" - also Wonka. There are more... but I'll let you find them. 

**Wonkaland Info** - I didn't add much in the way of Wonkaland 'cept for the huge field. I feel, that you don't need anymore clues to figure out what Wonka is up to anymore. So, re-read if you really have to find out what. By the way, the Doctor's name is "Dr. Scott Gauzeborne", so if you hear that name, he's who I'm refering too.

**Chapter Four Preview** – Wonka is at the factory again and treated still ready to continue to show Charlie around. Charlie then realized that mabye Wonka was telling him what he was doing all along, but in a very subtle way. So, it's up to Charlie (and you) to find out what Wonka has been planning.

**To the Past Reviewers**: Thankyou all so much, you are the soul reason why I managed to update this chapter so bleeping fast. Thankyou, you made my day today.

**I LOVE YOU: **I love whomever C2'd me. I can't remember at the moment who... but I love you all the same. hugs

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop).


	4. Bigger and More Known

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Wow... I'm sorry about this. I couldn't update while I was at my Mom's. So, here I am, updating now. Hehe. At least, I had alot of time to think and edit this Chapter. Hehe... I have some idea's for later on now...

All the typical junk will be on the bottom.

**Warning**: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Four Summery** – The Press is now interested in the interal affairs of the Chocolatier, and some amazing things in the factory are begining to happen. But, beyond all this happyness, there is a coating of worry. Can Wonka solve this problem?

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**Chapter 4 - Bigger and More Known**

One day later, everything was seemingly back to normal. Dr. Gauzeborne had signified that Wonka had two fractures in his upper arm, and one fracture below his elbow. It of course needed to be casted, but Wonka refused to have the little bit of cast go in-between his thumb and fingers. He still liked to have the pleasantries of putting on his rubber gloves, and he did so by jamming the excess bit of plastic under the cast, so all looked normal. The Doctor also noted that Wonka had nearly broken his ankle, but instead sprained it badly. So, the Doctors bound it to keep it from moving, and the urged him to make full use of his cane.

Snow still fell harshly outside, it was getting worse and worse as the days went by, and showed no sign of relenting it's cold onslaught. It was now dawning on three feet, and seemed to get higher by the hour. Never had the factory or the town ever seen such a heavy snowfall. Nearly no one went outside.

Though, snow and injures didn't stop Wonka from making sure that all the trucks could make their ways to the stores and airports. He even fitted all the trucks with snow-ploughs, the day he go back, so they could effortlessly make their way through the ever growing deepness of snow. But, Wonka even knew that it would reach too deep for even the trucks. He sent out the next week's worth of chocolate as fast as he could, and ahead of schedule, just in case.

Wonka sat on his deep-plum-red bed and retied the sling, which held his right arm firmly against his chest. This task was fairly hard because Wonka was a right-handed man, as much as he'd like to be different and left-handed. In fact, Wonka wasn't very skilled with his left hand, so it nearly took an hour of "gosh darnit", "ow", and "weird" before it decided to be tight enough to last till lunchtime.

He sighed in relief that that was finally done, and he picked up his golden shirt clasp off of the table. Clasp in one hand, he tried to fasten it to his shirt, but found that this was an, of course, two-handed job. Two hands, was something Wonka was seriously lacking, so he placed it in his pocket to ask for help later. He instead, placed his hat gingerly on his head. Being very glad that he did not need to hands for that job.

Reaching for his cane, Wonka levered himself off of his bed, and slowly limped his way across the room, and towards his blue themed living room. While he made his way towards the coat rack, he thought to himself that he had given Charlie enough clues and chances to figure out what he was up to. Even though Charlie was a smart boy, he thought, he might have been a little _too_ clever for Charlie to pick it out. So, deciding not to wait any longer, Wonka would have to tell Charlie all about his plans, _today_.

From his coat rack he decided to pick out his favorite coat. His plum red one, was in all regards his favorite coat. He realized that that colour suited him nicely, and went very well with his eyes. His _purple_ eyes. Even Wonka was astounded now an again to be met in a mirror by a man with purple eyes, and he never figured why he did have them. He supposed his mother had to have had them, as well, that was the only possible reason.

Willy tore his mind away from his purple eyes and slipped his left arm through the coat. His right, however, couldn't go through, so the right sleeve hung limply by his side.

Key in hand, Wonka walked, or rather, limped, into the Glass Elevator and pressed the button labeled "Chocolate Waterfall". The Elevator was indeed, fixed. The moment they had returned from the doctor's Willy made sure that it was the first thing he did, other than have a nice cup of his famous Vanilla-Hot-Coca and fit the trucks with ploughs. After a few test runs, it was deemed safe once more and was placed back into full service

The Elevator glided to a stop, and opened to his pride and joy, the Candy Meadow. But, he only left the elevator to be met by a very distressed looking Charlie Bucket. It was very early in the Morning, and Wonka was rather confused why Charlie was up and about so early in the morning, also to the fact that Charlie looked rather upset.

"Hello my dear Charlie," he said pleasantly, giving him a grin, "what brings you to the Elevator door so early in the morning?"

"This," Charlie said angerly holding up a newspaper to hand it to Willy.

And on the front cover it wrote:

_Famous Chocolate Factory, dangerous?_

_The seemingly 'safe' Chocolate Factory of the world renowned Willy Wonka, was questioned yesterday by a group of individuals who lived by the factory itself. They said, after the children of the Golden Ticket came out, they only thought their abnormalities were some sort of price given to the children, or something they did themselves, though, most people doubt this. But, just yesterday, Wonka was seen limping out of the factory towards the town's small clinic. With a reported broken arm and leg. He also was reported to faint after entering the clinic._

_Is this factory unsafe?_

_"I would never think that Wonka had an unsafe factory," said an elderly man who sells Wonka Chocolate's by the bars, "I think that all of you are getting too upset by the matter and don't need to dwell in the affairs of Mr. Wonka."_

_Regardless of some of his adoring Chocolate fans, one question comes to our minds. Is this factory safe for the young boy Charlie Bucket, who now lives, for unknown reasons, in the great Chocolate Factory?_

_"I think the authorities need to pull the boy out," a young woman who runs her own chocolate franchise, "if such bad things could happen to the other children and Wonka himself, who knows what will happen to him."_

_"I think he is safe where he is, there is no need to pull the boy out," Dr. Scott Gauzeborne, the Doctor who treated Wonka says, "Mr. Wonka adores the boy like a brother, and he would never let young Charlie get into any trouble. Why, by the looks of it, Charlie looks a lot healthier than the last time I've seen him. Wonka does an excellent job on safety."_

_He was later questioned on how Wonka was hurt, he said that the great Wonka "fell", but wouldn't go into details. His reasoning was that "they are in no need, Wonka is a great man."_

_Still, a small amount of people still think that Wonka's Factory is unsafe for the young Bucket, concerning the construction that has been happening on the back of the factory. Only time will tell on such a dilemma. This newspaper will be sure to write more on the story as it unfolds._

Wonka reread the paper several times, and looked up towards Charlie's upset face. He too now, was rather upset. _Pull Charlie out? The nerve._

"The nerve of some people," Wonka finally said, tossing the paper into the Elevator with carelessness, "you'd think that I'd be controlling a saw mill."

"But Mr. Wonka, what if the authorities do pull me out?" Charlie said sadly, looking towards Wonka.

"Well, I don't think that'll happen, for one. They'll need your parents permission, and they'll need to get in," Wonka said grinning, "Even if they do, I'll make this factory as safe as I can, and do _everything_ in my power to get you to come back."

"Really Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, grinning up towards the grinning man above him.

"Really." He said raising a finger, "now, onto lighter business. I have something to tell you-"

But before Wonka could even tell Charlie what he was going to do, Charlie told Wonka for him, "you're going to make this factory bigger, though... that's all I could figure out."

Wonka dropped his finger, mouth still open. He then laughed a genuine laugh, "I _knew_ you'd get it, Charlie. I was starting to get worried you wouldn't."

Charlie grinned, "Of course Mr. Wonka, I think it will be just as wonderful as the rest of the factory when it's done."

Wonka had nothing to say to that, so he grinned in its stead. He felt something pulling on his heart. He worried, now that there was going to be construction, that the Factory would seem much more unsafe to the public. He needed a way to build the Factory on record time, plus keep them from pulling away his heir.

"Mr. Wonka, do you want to come over for breakfast? I'm sure that it's almost ready." Charlie said hopefully.

Wonka smiled, "of course I would Charlie. But, only on one condition Charlie."

"What's that?"

Wonka leant down and placed his left hand in his pants pocket, and pulled out the large golden 'W'. He laughed nervously, "I couldn't put this on."

Charlie suddenly laughed, and he shook his head, taking the clasp and fastening it to Wonka's shirt. "I was wondering why you didn't have it on," he said, letting go.

"Eh heh heh..."

-----------------------------

"That was wonderful Charlie," said Wonka, as Charlie and himself walked out of the Bucket's house. "It was so gosh-darned good." Wonka grinned happily, he always loved to have Mrs. Bucket's meals. They were so gosh-darned good, as Willy had already said.

Charlie grinned, "I'm glad you like my Mum's cooking Mr. Wonka."

Wonka turned to face Charlie as they walked, "Well of course I do, it's not at all like any cooking that I could do." He smiled thoughtfully, "she's _much_ better than me."

Charlie looked up at him with confusion, "You can cook Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka grinned and gave a childish laugh, "Why of course I can Charlie... Why, I had to learn how to cook ever since I -" -WHAM-

The side of Wonka's face collided with the elevator as he spoke, and, like he did usually when this situation arose, he fell, sprawled on the ground. Charlie gasped in surprise, bending over to help the distressed Chocolatier.

"Ow," Willy said rather simply, looking down towards his leg, he looked back up and grabbed Charlie's hand letting him lever himself up. "Thanks Charlie... I really need to watch were I am going."

Charlie pressed the button, and the Elevator doors glided open, Wonka and Charlie stepped eagerly in.

Turning back to Charlie he said, "as I was saying, of _course _I can cook Charlie, I had to know how to cook since I was little!" Wonka said this in such a matter that it must have been the most obvious thing in the whole entire world.

"But," Wonka continued, "you wouldn't like it at all. Most of my favorite foods come from different places. _Very _different from your Mom's cooking."

Wonka stopped Charlie from pressing 'Inventing Room,' and he took out his purple key once more, jamming it into the tiny keyhole in the Elevator.

As the Elevator shot upwards, Charlie looked directly up to Wonka's face, "I would love to try some of your cooking Mr. Wonka."

Wonka looked and grinned down towards Charlie, "really? Hmn... Maybe we could arrange something tonight."

Charlie gave Wonka his favorite smile of happiness, "that would be brilliant Wonka!"

"Only if you help me, Charlie."

"Of course Mr. Wonka."

The Elevator stopped smoothly, and opened its doors into Wonka's very blue-themed Living Room. Willy grinned happily and walked inside with Charlie. He felt, as they entered his home, a strange feeling of dread. He couldn't help but worry... _What if they took Charlie away? What if I would never see him again? What if... I could never get better, so that my Chocolates would be terrible? What if, I could never get him back? My little brother..._

Charlie looked up at Wonka with concern while they walked over to Willy's couch. Wonka's face was contorted into sadness, and he seemed to be thinking very hard about something. Charlie seemed to know right away, the newspaper... Wonka was worrying.

Charlie decided to change the subject, "Mr. Wonka, what are we doing in your home again?" he asked.

Wonka snapped out of his 'daymare' and sat down on the couch with Charlie. "Oh, we are gonna do some rounds around the factory. But, the Oompa-Loompa's usually send things here with important things I need to tend to today."

"Really? What kind of things?"

"Oh, if candies had weird side-effects, if machines broke down, if something has been properly made, or if orders have come in. You know, the usual."

To most people the "usual" would usually mean something very... _boring_. But, with Willy Wonka, it usually meant something fantastic and amazing. Charlie couldn't wait.

Willy Wonka reached over to the side of the couch that was pressed against the wall. Attached to the wall, was a long clear tube that went through the ceiling, and to catch what it dropped was something that resembled half a bowl. Wonka pulled out three envelopes, each coloured differently than the other.

"Invention," Wonka said and tossed the blue one down on the table. "Breakdown," he tossed the green one on top of that. "My Oompa-Loompa's can handle that for awhile by themselves."

Willy held the pink envelope near his face and he looked at it with confusion. "I wonder what's happening in the Candy Floss Meadow?"

Charlie then remembered his first Elevator ride with Mr. Wonka; Mike Teavee, and Mr. Teavee were also there, and they passed the Candy Floss Room that had pink sheep being sheered by Oompa-Loompa's. He remembered Wonka's statement and nervous grin, "I'd rather not talk about this one..."

"Does it have to do with the Candy Floss Sheep Mr. Wonka?"

"I dunno Charlie," he then added with an exited voice, "let's see!"

He quickly opened up the Envelope and started to read in his head quickly, tracing over the words care fully in his mind. A large wild grin started to pull over his face, and he looked rather exited. He then quickly shot the paper down, looking at Charlie with happiness.

"This is just _wonderful_ Charlie," he started to sound a little higher, "absolutely _wonderful_!"

Charlie looked at the paper folded on Willy's coffee table, "What is it Mr. Wonka?"

Willy seemed to either have ignored Charlie, or didn't hear him in the first place. He stood up quickly and grabbed his cane, already heading towards the glass Elevator. It seemed, that something very good must of happened, or Willy Wouldn't have left so quickly. Charlie got up as well, following Willy into the Glass Elevator.

"Mr. Wonka, What _is _it?"

Wonka looked down as if Charlie appeared "Oh Yes, something absolutely _wonderful_ has happened. I can't explain now, I think it would be better if you see." He looked up again, smiling madly.

Willy pressed the button labeled "Candy Floss Room", and he leant slightly against the backing of the Elevator. His mind currently off of whatever was bugging him before. Charlie felt relieved, Willy didn't seem to be troubled anymore. Whatever was happening must be really important and good, to make Wonka smile like that.

The Elevator glided and stopped in a great room that had bits of pink here and there. On the other side, Charlie could see another doorway that had "Candy Floss Meadow", on top of it. He guessed that this is where he kept all of the neat Cotton Candy Sheep Wonka had.

Wonka and Charlie stepped out of the Elevator, and they made their way towards the Candy Floss Meadow. Wonka walked over, and opened the door. Behind it was a large, flat, Candy Meadow that was covered in only sugar grass. Walking around it were what seemed to be hundreds of sheep. _Pink_ sheep.

A group of three Oompa-Loompas came over, and Wonka knelt down, as one of them whispered in his ear. "Really? Magnificent!" He stood up again and faced Charlie, "these Oompa-Loompas are gonna show us something really neat!"

Charlie looked down to see a Oompa-Loompa tug on his pant leg, leading him, this reminded him of the time when Mrs. Gloop was being lead to the fudge room to see if she could save her son. He felt, inwardly relived, that this was not the case at all. They were going to show him something really neat and cool.

He stopped and stared at the sight before him. There was one of the Pink sheep lying down, and in the arms of a couple of Oompa-Loompa's were tiny little newborn lambs, all wrapped up in blankets. Charlie saw that the lambs were not pink like their parents, but one was yellow and the other was green.

Wonka looked as if he was just given a million-pound prize, "Oh, bring them over here! Bring them over here!"

The Oompa-Loompas came over and Wonka ushered him to sit down, as did he. One of the Oompa-Loompa's handed Wonka one of the bundles, and the other handed the other one to Charlie. Charlie looked over and saw Wonka open the blanket and coo, stroking the little baby lamb inside. Charlie could swear he heard, "the cutest thing ever," and "aren't you just _adorable._"

Charlie looked down into his own bundle, and saw, that he was holding the little green lamb. He knew why Wonka seemed to be loving them to death. They were remarkably cute, and Charlie stroked his tiny head with a couple of his fingers. The baby bleated cutely and licked them in return, earning a giggle from Charlie, even it's tongue was green.

Wonka looked up from petting the other, and explained to Charlie, "you see, these are the first ever sheep to be born in my factory. The first ever ones, yep." He looked back down at the yellow one he was holding at started to pet it again, still talking, "I just _love_ sheep. They are my favorite animals. When I heard that my favorite sheep in particular was going to have little babies, I was so happy. And now they are here!" He looked up again towards Charlie, the lamb sucking on his gloved finger. "What do you think Charlie?"

"I think they are wonderful, and cute," he stroked his own more, grinning down at it. "They are so soft. I expected them to feel sticky, like Cotton Candy."

"No, this sheep's fur is exactly like cotton. But, since they are Sugar Sheep, it is eatable. I find it is much tastier that normal Cotton Candy, and it doesn't go all sticky when wet. Although, it still melts a little." Wonka pulled out of his coat pocket a closed clear bag with some pink fluff in it. "Here, try some."

One arm cradling the lamb, Charlie lent over and took the bag from Willy Wonka and opened it. He took a bit of the fluff and stuck it in his mouth. It tasted _wonderful_ it wasn't like normal Cotton Candy at all. It was soft in his mouth, and it melted kindly on his tongue. It was absolutely delicious.

"This is really good," Charlie finally said, when the Candy Floss finally melted away from his mouth.

"Thought you like it," Wonka said. Then, Charlie noticed Willy's signature grin of mischief. It seemed that this was not only to show Charlie the sheep. Wonka had something else in mind.

"Charlie..." Wonka said with a smile, "do you like her?"

"Hmn?"

"Do you like her?" he repeated pointing down towards the Green Lamb in Charlie's arms.

Charlie looked down towards the adorable lamb in his arms, and then back to Wonka, "how could I _not_ like her?"

"Good. Then she's yours."

"What?"

Wonka grinned at Charlie, "yup, she can be your sheep. Just yours. You can do whatever you want with her. But, she'll have to live here with all the other sheep for a little while. Other than that, she's all yours."

"M-mine?" Charlie looked down at the cute lamb again. Wonka had given her to him, this adorable tiny lamb. He didn't know what to say.

Wonka frowned, "you don't like her."

"N-no! I love her, this great present! It's just, I'm a little overwhelmed." He managed to say, looking towards Wonka.

"Oh. Well, you better name her, can't have a Sheep without a name your know. Very disrespectful." He slightly lifted the yellow one he was holding and said very proudly, "I named mine Sunny."

"Oh, Okay..." Charlie thought hard. What was a good name for a Green Sugar Sheep? Well, he didn't think that books had baby names for Green Sugar Sheep specifically, so he traced his mind. _Well, she's green_, he thought, _and, she is really cute. Hmm... how about Barley? No... it sounds too, herb-like. Lily? Yea. I like that… It's a good name._

How about Lily?" Charlie finally said, looking up at Willy.

"Perfect! Sunny and Lily the two new Sugar Sheep!" Wonka said happily, grinning again.

He turned and called over a couple Oompa-Loompas with his strange call. They came over and relived Wonka and Charlie of the little Lambs. As much as Charlie would love to have kept on hugging onto Lily. He was sure that Wonka felt the same was about Sunny. But, they did have work to do.

Wonka stood up, holding onto his cane, "Well Charlie, as much as I'd like to stay, we have to get on with other business."

Charlie nodded and stood up, following Wonka back into the glass Elevator in the other room.

They stepped inside and Wonka re-inserted the key to go back to his room. Charlie looked up a Willy, he did very often because Willy Wonka was much taller than he was, and asked, "they were cute weren't they?"

Wonka smiled back down at Charlie as the Elevator shot upwards, "Yes, yes they are Charlie. I bet their flavors will be very unique when they get older. Green and Yellow... Hmn."

The whole way up towards, and sometimes sideways, Wonka's home, Charlie thought of the good times that were ahead of him. He could see himself petting Lily in the middle of the field with Willy Wonka and Sunny. It would be absolutely fabulous. But... he then remembered the newspaper, and it seemed to stamp out the dream like it was nothing. He could get pulled out. He looked back towards Willy and grinned for a brief moment, Wonka wouldn't allow it. Charlie knew that.

The doors slid open and Charlie stepped inside. As he walked in, he didn't notice, or rather, didn't _pay attention _to, a pair of slippers sitting near the Elevator. He stepped on one accidentally, and fell backwards onto the floor with a harsh -thump-.

Willy Wonka walked over quickly, and knelt down by and close to Charlie's head. "Are you Okay Charlie?" He asked, face full of concern.

Charlie laughed when he saw the upside down Wonka, "yes Mr. Wonka. I'm alright."

Then, rather suddenly, Wonka nearly bent down low enough for his face to touch Charlie's. Wonka seemed to be examining his face rather intently, with furrowed eyebrows.

"M-Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka stood up, and looked rather confused, thinking off into the distance. Charlie stood up as well, staring at Willy with confusion.

"Mr. Wonka?"

"_Weird, _never expected that at all... I guess you are like me more than I thought you are."

"What…?"

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**Authors Thoughts**– This was fun to write, and I'm glad I have it over with. I can't wait to start typing the next chapter tomorrow. Yuppers... much about strangeness...

**Wonkaland Info** - Not much... but the sheep. I wonder, their flavors need to be exotic. Not Lemon or Mint. What do you think?

**Chapter Five Preview** – What did Wonka mean by "I guess you are like me more than I thought you are."? And what does the press have against Wonka? You might find out in the next chapter.

**To the Past Reviewers**: Thankyou all so much. I love you all -gives you Cotton Candy)

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop).


	5. Purple Fever

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

**Chapter Edit: **There were some spelling and grammar mistakes in this chapter. I have kindly removed them for your reading happiness. Plus, I added another credit in the Wonkaland Info.

Hello! -sighs deeply- Wow, this was hard. I have been so busy… but I finally finished the chapter! I have to applaud you… For, some of the reviewers (and I bet some of the readers as well), figured out what Willy was talking about when he said that strange comment. Oh! Thanks to two reviewers, I have picked the two flavors for our favorite Green and Yellow Sugar Sheep, Lily and Sunny. Details will be in "Wonkaland Info" below.

I have to say Thankyou to all of the reviewers and I am glad that so many of you like and read my fic. –gives all of her reviewers a lollipop-

Typical stuff below: (Notes concerning next upstate in "Author's thoughts")

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Five Summery** – What _did_ Willy Wonka mean? Well, Charlie will find out. Plus, sometimes being a Candy Maker doesn't mean that everything will be perfect. But, if you take in the good things, even the bad will even seem funny in the end.

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**Chapter 5 - Purple Fever**

"What...?" Charlie said, looking at Willy Wonka with a large amount of confusion. What did he mean by 'I guess you are like me more than I thought you are'? Was it the fact that Charlie fell down in a very Wonka style, or was it something else? The look on Wonka's face told Charlie that it must have been something else.

Wonka still had his back facing Charlie, and he was thinking intently. _That doesn't make any sense. It can't be the candy... No, it isn't the candy. It must be something else. But, why Charlie? Why me? This doesn't make any sense._

"Mr. Wonka?"

Willy turned around and grinned wildly, "Well, Charlie. It seems that... Well, you are much more like me, then I thought you were."

"What do you _mean_ by that Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, starting to get annoyed with the whole matter.

"Here, let me explain," Willy started, "When I was about a year younger than you, I had normal Chocolate Brown eyes. Just like yours."

"Really, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, suddenly realizing where Wonka might be going with this story.

Wonka grinned, "yes Charlie, then, when I hit around _your_ age, my eyes turned... Well, purple." Wonka placed his left hand in his pocket and took out a foldaway mirror. "I think it would be best if you looked yourself."

Charlie looked up at Wonka with confusion. Could this all be a silly joke? Wonka did do these kinds of things just for a laugh. But, he did seem so serious about it. Very serious. Charlie took the mirror from Wonka and opened it up. He took a breath, then looked into the mirror and straight at his own eyes.

Chocolate Brown. At least, they were for the most part. Charlie looked closer and saw what looked like a ring of Dark Purple tightly wrapped around his pupil. He gasped in shock. His eyes were changing colour.

"It's just the _weirdest_ thing," Wonka said with a smile, "it happened the exact same way to me too. Silly huh?"

"Mr. Wonka... why, how? Is it the candy?" Charlie asked folding up the mirror and handing it back to Willy.

"It can't be the candy Charlie, because, when that started to happen, I didn't invent or test any candy yet. I think it just naturally happened to me." Wonka then grinned, his own purple eyes glittering with happiness, "I knew why you were so special. Now, there is another reason why you are so fit to be my heir!"

"What would Mum think? She'd think that you went around and changed my eye colour."

Wonka frowned for a moment, "I don't think so. I could explain _I_ didn't even know that was going to happen." He grinned again, "I think it is so neat though!" He frowned mentally... _what if Charlie was teased?_

_"Hey, Weirdo... what's happening to your eyes?"_

_Young Willy looked at the boy with confusion, "What are you talking about?"_

_"Your eyes... They're purple!"_

_Willy didn't want to believe the boy. He always bullied or teased him, there was no point to listen to such a mean person, "I don't believe you," he said curtly, crossing his arms._

_"Why don't you ask your Dorky friend over here then," the boy said gesturing towards Willy's best friend. "I'd bet he'd see it too!"_

_Willy frowned at the boy, but did go over to his friend, and ask if his eyes seemed to look purple. His friend squinted as he examined Willy's eyes, and his own widened in shock._

_"Willy! They are, they are! They're turning Dark Purple!"_

_Willy, not wanting to believe his friend, dashed away into the bathroom and sat on the counter, staring into his eyes. It was happening, they were turning Dark Purple, a deep ring surrounded his pupil... and there was nothing he could do._

_"Great..." Willy said, slumping his back against the mirror, "now father has something more to hate about me. I'm even weirder than before."_

_"What's so great about Purple Eyes anyway?" He shouted to no one in particular, looking up at the ceiling with exasperation._

Wonka snapped out of his flashback to see Charlie looking at him with a strange expression. He laughed nervously and said, "I'm sorry, I was having another one of my flashbacks..."

Charlie frowned, "they teased you, didn't they?"

Wonka looked slightly taken a back with Charlie's comment. He frowned and responded in a small voice, "yea... all the time."

Charlie walked over to sit on Willy's couch, "almost every time you have a flashback, you seem sad."

Wonka followed and sat beside Charlie, "well, I _did_ have Purple eyes. It is pretty weird."

"No, it's not just teasing is it Mr. Wonka? It's mostly, something else... isn't it?"

Willy said nothing and looked away from Charlie. He forgot, he assumed that Charlie already knew or didn't care. Charlie knew nothing of his past. He never told him at all. What would he think of the Great Willy Wonka, having a huge amount of headgear? The Great Chocolatier, _not allowed_ to have Chocolate... Willy Wonka... whose father left him when he was only Charlie's age..?

"See? You're doing it again!"

Wonka shook himself, "ah, so I was. There is no need to worry about it Charlie." Willy bent over and grabbed his notebook and pencil, "how about we brainstorm a bit before we check out the other things going on the factory."

Charlie didn't feel like changing the subject, but he also felt that Wonka seemed less peppy whenever they seemed to talk about it. He nodded and smiled, "sure." Anything to make Willy happier.

They sat there, on Wonka's couch eating candies in bowls and rating them, trying to find ways to make them better. Caramels, Chocolates, and Butterscotch Toffees. Not all the eating was for inventing and brainstorming purposes. Some of it, as Willy explained to Charlie, was to help them think, and Charlie didn't seem to mind in the least, testing and eating Candies while thinking up new ones. Life as a Chocolatier was wonderful.

Two and a half hours of brainstorming they came up with something that Wonka would agree with. "Okay, so it's a chewing gum that crackles when you eat it. When you blow it up, the bubble will pop with thousands of candy tiny sparkles that will flutter to the ground." He gestured with his hands a sprinkling motion and smiled wildly. "Brilliant Charlie, brilliant!"

He felt something rest lightly on his shoulder and heavy breathing, "Charlie?"

He looked and saw Charlie, sound asleep, resting on him. _He must have been tired_, Willy thought, yawning himself. _In fact, I'm pretty tiered too.._. Wonka tried to stop himself from yawing again, but to no avail. _I should have gone to bed last night... In fact... I should have gone to bed yesterday too..._

He felt himself feel heavier and his eyelids drooped, "I'm sure... that it's OK to close my eyes for only a second. Just a second..." Wonka closed his eyes, "then... I... can... brainstorm... more..." With that said, Willy fell asleep.

----------------------------

Wonka was running, "Charlie!" he screamed, "Charlie!"

But, Charlie was no-where to be found. Wonka dashed around another corner and shot down the stairs, calling out again, "Charlie!" He has this horrid feeling that something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

He ran as fast as he could towards the nearest window. He didn't know why he needed to be a window. But, something was telling him to go towards it. When he stopped in front of it, he saw a group of people walking out of the factory escorting a struggling little boy. He squinted down, to see who it was, and for one awful moment, he realized... it was Charlie.

"Hey!" he called out of the window, trying to catch the men's attention. "Hey, you! Leave Charlie alone!"

He backed away from the window and started to run towards where he kept the Elevator. His mind was racing, _why did I fall asleep? I could of stopped Charlie from being taken away! How could I be so stupid?_

He stopped, dead in his tracks, the Elevator was gone, and so were the call buttons. "Wait... where is the Elevator?"

He had no time for delays, he had to get to Charlie, fast! So, he turned his tail and ran towards the nearest set of stairs and started to dash down them as fast as he could. As he ran, window's flashed by mockingly and he could see the men walking through the gates, getting ready to shove Charlie into a car.

But, the stairs seemed to go on forever and forever, never getting any closer to Charlie or the men, no matter how fast he ran, no matter how many steps he took.

"Charlie! No, Charlie!" he reached out his hand towards Charlie as the car sped away. A horrid choking feeling grasping onto his heart. "Not Charlie!"

He dashed harder and harder as he saw the car drive off into the distance and fade away. "I -huff- can... still -puff- get to him!" he said, still running as fast as he could.

"CHARLIE!"

----------------------------

Willy felt something dab his forehead with something rather cool. He opened his eyes to look in the face of Mrs. Bucket who was leaning over him with a cool cloth pressed to his forehead.

He stared at her for several moments before sitting up rapidly, making his head spin for a moment. He realized that he was in his Plum-Red Bedroom, and _that_ made no sense what so ever. He didn't remember falling asleep here.

"Mr. Wonka, would you please lay down, you have a fever," she said, hands on her hips, lips pursed with annoyance.

He turned to her, "fever? Oh..."

He lay back down, that would explain why he felt very cold. He looked at the ceiling, before sitting up rapidly again, making Mrs. Bucket spill the container of cold water all over herself.

"_Mr. Wonka_!"

"Charlie! Wh-where's Charlie?" Wonka then started to quickly explain what happened and waved his arm around to make sure that she got the idea, "I saw some men try to take him away and I tried to stop them but I couldn't because the stairs kept on going on forever and ever and I didn't get him and now he's not here and did you manage to find Charlie? Oh no... What if it's my fault Charlie isn't here and-"

Mrs. Bucket placed a hand over his mouth, grabbed his arm, and said, with a rather annoyed voice, "Charlie is _fine _Mr. Wonka. Nobody had 'taken him away'. Now, would you please, _lay. down!"_

Willy took a breath and lay, again, back down against the soft sheets of his bed. Looking rather insulted, in a childish way, about being yelled at by Charlie's mother. He crossed his arms and glared up back at her and gave her a rather pouty face.

She sighed and added with a kinder smile, "I'm sorry Mr. Wonka... Charlie is fine though. I think your fever gave you have a nightmare. Charlie will be back, he said that he was going to get some lunch for you."

"Lunch...?"

"Yes, it seems that you and Charlie have had a little nap about the excitement of the sheep and brainstorming. It's already one o'clock." she stood up holding onto the container and cloth, "now, I have to re-fill this, _stay put_." With that said and done, she turned and left the room.

Wonka stared at the ceiling. Getting fevers wasn't all too rare for him, sometimes, he worked so hard, he barely had time to take care of himself properly to keep himself healthy. But, it seemed that this time was a little bit worse than the others. He realized that he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, or the night before that, plus, he had been going to bed very, very late every night for the past week. That _couldn't_ be healthy. No, it _wasn't_ healthy.

Mrs. Bucket came back into the room holding a new container of icy cold water and sat beside Willy again.

Something dawned on Willy. "Wait! How did _you_ get here? Last time I checked this was only accessible by the Elevator and me, for that matter."

Mrs. Bucket dipped the towel in the water, folded it and placed it on Wonka's forehead. "Charlie brought me up here. He took your key chain from your pocket to do so. He was really worried you know."

Wonka nodded. _ Ah, so that's how she got in here. _He thengave her a look of confusion, regarding her last comment, "worried?"

"Yes, I was too at first. Charlie came into our home telling us that you looked funny. We asked him what he meant and he told us that you were paler than ever and sweating like a mad man. You were also mumbling nonsense under your breath when he lead me up here."

"Nonsense?"

"Something about Purple Eyes and stairwells. It was really confusing. As I said, nonsense." She took the cloth off of his head, rung it out, and dipped it back into the container.

"Okay... how did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" She asked, placing the cloth back on his head.

He furrowed his eyebrows, _remember?_ "No... Should I?"

"I suppose not, you were pretty out of it," Mrs. Bucket explained. "We woke you up and lead you to your bedroom, the whole way you were muttering something about us, and the fact we need to get Charlie back." She dabbed his forehead a couple more times and continued, "In fact, Charlie himself had to re-assure you several times that he was still there, before you calmed down."

"Wow... I don't remember that at all," he said, "_weird._"

"Your fever was pretty bad."

"It's gone down right?" Wonka didn't want to stay in bed all day, he made a promise to Charlie. Plus, he hated to sit around doing nothing. It was just plain boring.

"I don't know, we'll have to check again in a few minutes."

He sighed, and sank down deeper in his bed. He must have worried Charlie so much. He knew, if it was Charlie with the fever, he would be very worried. That's it, he would have to apologize to Charlie for all his worry. Wonka felt that he didn't need to worry Charlie so much, Charlie had enough to worry about.

The door to his room creaked open and Charlie walked through holding a tray with a sandwich on it. Wonka tried to sit up, but Mrs. Bucket pushed on him to keep him from doing it so quickly. For, she almost spilt the water allover again.

Charlie laughed and walked over, holding the tray, "Are you feeling better Mr. Wonka?"

"Yea Charlie, much better," he smiled back.

Mrs. Bucket stood up; "Well Charlie, you stay here and I'll get the thermometer."

Charlie nodded and sat down in the chair she was sitting in beside Wonka's bed. He placed the tray on Willy's lap. "I tried to bring something to drink, but it kept spilling in the Elevator."

Wonka laughed, sitting up better so he was more comfortable, "Don't worry about it Charlie, I can get something from my fridge later, kay?"

"Alright," Charlie grinned. Charlie suddenly found his mind trailing off to earlier on.

_Charlie woke up, feeling rather refreshed. He needed that sleep. He realized that he must have slipped down, because his head was in Wonka's lap. He sat up quickly._

_"Sorry Mr. Wonka, I didn't mean..." He looked up towards Willy and saw that he was asleep as well._

_But, something was different with the way that Willy Wonka was sleeping. His breathing was short, he was horribly pale and perspiration ran down his face. He was also mumbling in his sleep and his face was contorted to one of agony._

_Charlie suspected that it was a dream, so he started to shake Willy's arm to wake him up. "Mr. Wonka... Mr. Wonka." But, Wonka didn't seem to want to wake up, his eyes closer tighter and he mumbled something else._

_Charlie realized that he recognized the symptoms. Or rather, he remembered his mother telling him that he was the same way once. Charlie kneeled on the couch and placed his hand on Wonka's forehead. Willy Wonka definitely had a fever; he was very, very warm._

_Charlie thought wildly and with panic. He didn't know how to take care of someone with a fever... What was he supposed to do? "What would mum do? What would mum do?" That's it. He would get his mother._

_"I'll need to get mum," Charlie said, getting up from the couch, "she'll know what to do."_

_He bent over and grabbed Willy's large key ring. "Sorry Mr. Wonka... I'll be needing this."_

_Charlie dashed out of the room and into the Elevator, hoping that Willy Wonka would be alright on his own on the couch. Last thing he needed was for Willy to fall off of the couch and hurt himself more._

_Quickly, he pressed the button "Chocolate Waterfall" and arrived within a matter of minutes. It seemed, that even the Elevator seemed to know what was going on, for Charlie swore that he arrived in half the time of what he was normally used to. It's not like Charlie was complaining though._

_He dashed out of the elevator and towards the Bucket house. Opening the door, he nearly ran into his mother. In fact, he did, but she quickly caught him and braced herself before she ended up on the floor._

_Mrs. Bucket said, "Charlie dear, what's the matter?"_

_Charlie looked up at her, breathing heavily from running, "Mum, Mr. Wonka is sick."_

_She let go, "really Charlie?"_

_"Yea. We went to visit his sheep, then we went upstairs to brainstorm. We must have fallen asleep. Because, I woke up, and Mr. Wonka looked funny."_

_"Funny, dear?"_

_"Yea, he's all pale and sweaty. He's also mumbling," Charlie said quickly, trying to get his mother get the point and help, "I checked his temperature, he's really hot."_

_"I see," she walked over to the door. "Let's see what I can do." She turned to the others in the house, "I'll be back later Buckets!" ("See you later." "Bye dear." "Doorknobs are funny.")_

_Charlie nodded and led his mother towards the Glass Elevator. Mrs. Bucket wasn't in fact very fond of the glass Elevator at all. She had ridden it once, and decided that once was enough. Usually first impressions meant everything, and "Up and Out" was not a very good first impression at all in her books._

_He handed her the large key ring, "I can't reach, but can you put the small purple key into the keyhole up there?" He pointed at the keyhole marked "Home" on the Elevator._

_She nodded, jammed a tiny purple key into the keyhole, and twisted it. Nothing happened. She twisted it again. Yet again, nothing happened._

_"Try another one!"_

_She looked down, and saw, with the hundreds of other keys was about ten other small purple keys. All of which were different shapes and thickness._

_"Which one?"_

_"I dunno... pick one!"_

_She picked a random one, and jammed it into the top keyhole and twisted it. She really didn't expect that was the right one. For she shouted with surprise when the Elevator sped up rapidly as soon as the finished twisting the key._

_The Elevator stopped, and Mrs. Bucket stumbled out of the Elevator, while Charlie dashed out and towards Willy Wonka. She thought to herself, that she'd never go on the Elevator again. No matter how many times that Charlie would beg her. A nice set of stairs were good enough, Thankyou-very-much._

_She sighed, straightened herself, and looked towards Willy Wonka. Who, was now laying on his side, covering his face with his left arm, mumbling something about "never ending stairs"._

_"I think he's getting worse," Charlie said with worry, placing his hand on Wonka's forehead._

_"Don't worry dear, we'll just move him to his bed and get a thermometer. Okay Charlie?"_

_"Charlie?"_

"Charrrlieeee... Chaaarliee." Willy waved his left hand in front of Charlie's face several times, and made a whistling noise like he was a radio in space, saying, "hellooooo... Factory to Charlie, Factory to Charlie... this is Wonka speaking."

Charlie blinked several times and looked towards Willy and grinned, "sorry, I was thinking."

Willy grinned widely, "did it hurt?"

Charlie just glared mockingly, "No! -er-... Eat your sandwich!"

"No."

Charlie sighed heavily, "Why not?"

"It's Turkey," Willy said, lifting the piece of bread, looking inside and saying, 'ew', when he saw the Turkey. He wiped his hand on his jacket with a face contorted to one of disgust.

"I thought you liked Turkey!" Charlie exclaimed throwing his hands in the air.

"I only like Turkey on Wednesdays... everyone knows that."

Charlie sighed again, "_I_ didn't!"

Wonka placed his hand on his chin in a thinking matter, "oh... I suppose I forgot to tell you."

"Erg!" Charlie exclaimed resting his head on the edge of the bed, his arms wilting on the sides of him.

"Just kidding!" Willy exclaimed happily as Mrs. Bucket walked through the door holding onto what seemed to be a wad of papers and a thermometer.

And through the sheets of the bed, Wonka and Mrs. Bucket could hear a muffled, "I think he's feeling better..."

Mrs. Bucket laughed and walked over to Willy and Charlie. "Oh, that's good. Because Mr. Wonka has mail," Mrs. Bucket tossed a handful of letters bound together towards Willy.

Willy caught it and looked at the pile, the top envelope was stamped with "important". It was obviously done by the Oompa-Loompa's; who thought, that these letters, were very important.

"What are those?" Charlie asked, lifting his head from the bed.

"I think... people have been reading the newspapers," Wonka frowned, holding up the pile.

"Great. That's _all_ we need."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– This was very interesting to write. This chapter seemed to write itself… and pulled itself towards the story. I can't WAIT to write the next chapter. Sadly though, I am going to be going for the next couple of days on a boat, so no updates from me for three or more days. I promise though, that I will think of many cool additions for the story. Kay?

**Wonkaland Info** – Yay! We have winners! (and flavors.)

Sunny, the Yellow Sheep, is now Honeysuckle flavored (by PucktoFaerie)

Lily, the Green Sheep, is now Sweet Honeydew flavored (by IDOL HANDS)

Thankyou both. I thought this was a nice match up for the Sheep. (Gives them the new flavor of Cotton Candy)

The letters? Yes, those _are_ some people either telling off Willy Wonka, or joining his side. I won't tell you what they are exactly though…

The gum that they invented? – Thankyou to one of my bestest friends… Hingeitsa-sama! huggle glomp

**Chapter Six Preview** – The significance of Wonka's and Charlie's eyes is more explained, and it seems that some of the Newspapers are telling Wonka their personal idea. Even a certain someone has an idea for Willy to consider…

**To the Past Reviewers**: It seemed that some of you thought that the baby Lambs were the reason for Wonka saying, "I'd rather not talk about this one." No, in fact, it's not the case at all. I personally, think the case is the fact that they are sheering sheep. I don't think that the public would be wanting be eating animal hair. No matter how tasty and sugary it was. I will keep it this way for my fic as well. Hope it cleared some things up for you!

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even _he_ likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	6. Letters of the Press

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hey y'all! I am back! Yup, I have been on a boat with my friends and it was really, really fun. But, I am back to be back in my home. The moment I got back, I read all of your lovely reviews and I started to write this Chapter. I am really getting into the momentum of this story and I hope you are too. I will also soon be getting a much newer computer to do my writing on, rather than having to transfer all of my fan fictions from one to another! This will also give me the ability to finally make the site I have always wanted to make and illustrate this very fan fiction! I will tell all of you up here when that has been done!

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Six Summery** – Willy Wonka has received some letters concerning the press. Are they good, or are they bad? Willy will only find out if he reads the letters for himself. Also, after taking a break from reading, Willy delves his mind and tries to find out just why is Charlie so perfect, and what he could do to save his only hope.

* * *

**Chapter 6 – Letters of the Press**

The one thing that Willy Wonka hated the most, or well... the fifth most, was letters. He didn't like having to read them and answer their icky questions they would ask about his factory. Such as: _What is your favorite colour? Why won't you come out? Can I have one of those tickets? Can you tell me how you brew your chocolate? Why can we never see your eyes? Why did you send out the Golden Tickets? Why aren't you answering anybody's letters?_

But, Wonka had a bad feeling that these letters were much different from the past fan-letters he'd receive on a daily basis. Willy pulled the first letter off the top of the package of many others and turned it over in his hand, examining the back and the front. He frowned, holding it a foot away from his face.

"I suppose you should open it Mr. Wonka," Charlie said, taking the second one off the pile and looking at the envelope. "It might be a good thing."

"Yea... It's not like they can _do_ anything anyway. It's only just words," he started to open the envelope and pulled out a sheet of floral writing paper.

It read:

_Dear Mr. Wonka,_

_I have read all the newspapers concerning the safety of your Chocolate Factory. I, used to be a worker at your factory. (And I assure you, I was -not- one of those spies) I think that all of these people are over-reacting on the whole fact. When I worked there, it was very safe, and nobody got hurt. Though, I am very sure that it has changed more since we have all left, since I remember plans for some very interesting things. All in all, I am behind you 110 percent and so are many of your other factory workers. I hope that the young Charlie Bucket and family will stay living in your glorious factory. _

_From, John Macintosh_

_P.S. Tell Joe Bucket that I say "Hi" and that I hope his wife is doing fine._

Willy put down the letter and sighed, "well, that was okay... nothing mean at all."

"Good. It's always good to see that people are with you Mr. Wonka." Charlie handed Wonka the second letter, "it's best that you do them quickly-"

"-Like a Band-Aid? Yea... I know." Wonka took the letter out of Charlie's hand and opened it up:

_Dear Willy Wonka_

_How dare you have a child inside your factory! Factories are dangerous places, certainly not a place for people to live in! So take the child out at once! Heaven only knows how harmed he could get. You are truly, truly irresponsible, and I am utterly disgusted by your actions. Even though I do like your chocolate, that will -not- change my opinion. Do the right thing, and stop being selfish for your own needs!_

_From, A concerned teacher._

Willy quickly placed the letter down and took a sharp breath. He never really truly been insulted in the longest time. And to be insulted, rather suddenly, was very nerve-racking for the poor Chocolatier. Charlie saw Wonka's face and picked up the letter and read it himself.

"Some people just don't understand, Mr. Wonka," Charlie said, trying to re-assure Willy, "this Factory isn't like other Factories at all. They just don't understand."

Wonka looked at Charlie for a moment, and said nothing. He turned and picked up another letter and opened it quickly. It was another floral paper, but it was written on quickly and angerly:

_Dear Mr. Wonka_,

_How can you keep a boy in your factory? It just is not safe for a boy of his age. Why do you even have a boy in your factory? I run a factory myself and people can get very, very, hurt in them. Sometimes, even the safest of workers can loose their fingers. I run a button factory, and if making buttons is unsafe, then imagine the thousands of kinds of candies you make. Be a nice kind person and let the boy go. Don't be rude and selfish for your own purposes, I am truly disgusted on your blindness to the matter._

_From, Carl Patterson_

Willy frowned and passed the letter on to Mrs. Bucket who started to read it herself, with Charlie hanging over her shoulder, reading it aswell. Wonka thought to himself warily, _am I selfish, am I rude? What does he mean by 'my own purposes?' What if he is right, what if Charlie could get really hurt? Am I really blind?_

"Mr. Wonka, it's okay," Mrs. Bucket placed the letter down, "he hasn't seen your factory and as Charlie said, your factory is like none that has ever existed. His is _nothing_ like yours."

Willy grinned nervously, not to sure whether to believe Mrs. Bucket or not. He had been to other factories long ago, and they _were_ very different. But, times have changed, maybe the factories did too. What if his factory was more dangerous?

He sighed, he would still have to get it all over with, he picked up another letter from the pile and sighed again, much more heavily. Tearing it open he noticed that it was printed off from a computer, and Willy had trouble reading it. In fact, he couldn't read it at all, and gave it to Charlie to read outloud.

_mr. wonka u suk. lyk d0n't be s0 mean. u d0nt 0wn the little b0y 0r anything. so, don't be stup1d. i h8 yur ch0c0l8s and it suks s0 much. u suk m0re. st0p being weird and be a n0rmal person. yah, whatever. i h8 u the m0st. _

Charlie didn't dare read the last sentence, _u should die, _he thought that Willy would have either broken into tears, or left the room completely when he heard that. Willy, was a very delicate man.

He continued,

_From, a sm4rt p3rs0n_

Mrs. Bucket, who had been listening, said, "A smart Person? I sometimes wonder about people." She gingerly placed it on the table, glancing over the end and pursing her lips angerly.

"Charlie, I don't want to read anymore right now..." Wonka said almost sounding like a five-year old telling his mother that he wants to go home. He looked almost pleading, his eyes looking towards Charlie with sadness.

"Sure, Mr. Wonka, we can read the rest later." Charlie was suddenly glad that he didn't read the last part of the letter

Charlie thought inwardly that not allot of letters would be very healthy for Willy Wonka. Almost always, people who oppose are a little more verbal that people who support. He suspected that Willy would get _a lot _of hate mail until after the whole thing gets solved.

"There is going to be more, isn't there?" Wonka said in a small voice, looking at the rest of the letters.

"Yea, lots more. But I promise Mr. Wonka, I'll read them all with you, Okay?"

Willy's face lifted at Charlie's comment. Maybe, he didn't have to go through all of this alone. He frowned again, but, there was the letters. Those people said such mean things. He didn't do anything wrong, did he? Wonka was starting to doubt that. Maybe, if so many people were so mad, maybe, he _did_ do something wrong.

"Okay?"

Wonka looked up, "Kay."

"Mr Wonka, " an idea hit Charlie quickly, and he knew it would help, "maybe we should attend to the other things happening in the factory."

"Hey... yea!" Willy grinned, and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

"Not yet, you're not," Mrs. Bucket said, stopping Willy by grabbing onto his shoulder. "We have to check to see if your fever has gone down. If it hasn't, I'm sorry Mr. Wonka, then you have to go straight back to bed." She held up the thermometer, ready to place it in his mouth.

Willy glared at her, opened his mouth, and looked away with his eyes.

Mrs. Bucket placed it under his tongue and closed his mouth with her hand. "Now, we have to keep that in there for a few minutes."

Wonka sat there, thinking to himself while he waited. He didn't like thermometers... at all. They were uncomfortable in his mouth, and he hated to have things placed in his mouth if it wasn't food. The last time he had a thermometer in his mouth was when he was three.

_"Willy, open your mouth," his father said, holding a thermometer towards young Willy._

_Willy, however held his mouth shut. Being as defiant as any normal Three-year old would be. "Nuh-uh!" he said shaking his head and holding his mouth as tightly shut as he could._

_"Willy, you are sick. I need to see how sick you are."_

_"No!"_

_"Willy..." Dr. Wonka started to sound annoyed. His own son was by far, the hardest person to get his mouth to open. He couldn't handle it. _

_"Willy, open your mouth now!" he shouted loudly._

_"No!"_

_"Willy!"_

_"No!"_

_Dr. Wonka leaned forwards and grabbed Willy by the waist hoisting him so that Willy was now sitting on his lap. _

_"Open. Your. Mouth. Now." his voice was harsh, and it bit down at the young child. He felt there was no other choice, he had no-idea how to take care of a three-year old child. His wife would have known. But he did not._

_"No...!" _

_Dr. Wonka had shoved it into Willy's mouth when he exclaimed his protests to his father. Dr. Wonka grabbed onto Willy's mouth and held it shut to keep his son from spitting it back out._

_They sat there for several minutes, Willy glared up at his father, and his father glared back. Finally, Dr. Wonka pulled the thermometer out._

_"99.5."_

"Hmn?" Willy said, turning to Mrs. Bucket. It seemed that he didn't even notice her pulling the thermometer out of his mouth. He supposed she said something as well.

"I said, your temperature is 99.5," she repeated, placing the thermometer down on a table. "It's not _that_ bad right now, but it could get much worse again later."

"Does that mean that Mr. Wonka can get out of bed now?" Charlie asked, looking hopeful towards his mother.

Mrs. Bucket sighed putting her hands on her hips, she smiled, "Oh... alright. But, as soon as you feel strange Mr. Wonka... straight back to bed."

Willy straightened up in his seat and saluted like a serious solider, "yes ma'am!"

He then grinned, grabbed his cane and levered himself out of the bed and onto the floor. He looked towards Charlie, "Let's go Charlie. We have much to do, and much to see."

As he, Charlie, and Mrs. Bucket walked down the white-themed hall Wonka picked up a small pile of coloured envelopes of things to do, and tend to, in the factory that day. He thought, that at least he could get up and move around. It's not like he was ever planning to leave the factory that day. It's not like he'd _ever_ leave the factory at all. So, he felt that being slightly feverish was nothing to worry about. No matter how many times Mrs. Bucket asked him how he felt, or if he was dizzy as he walked.

Charlie and Mrs. Bucket walked into the Elevator, and Wonka put on a nice aqua coat and placed his hat gingerly on his head. He checked to see if everything was order in the mirror, before putting on his shoes and walking into the Elevator along side Charlie and his mother.

He turned and grinned towards Charlie's Mother and asked, "Where should we drop you off Mrs. Bucket?"

"Home, please," she looked around wildly, "and if you can... make it smoother... that would be nice too."

"Right-o. Chocolate Waterfall," he pressed the button with his left hand, and stood up straight.

The Elevator whizzed down the corridors as quickly as it would have on any normal day, but it seemed to take the corners kinder and gentler. Mrs. Bucket actually found herself enjoying the ride, rather than being absolutely terrified of it.

The Elevator rested to a stop at the Candy Meadow and Mrs. Bucket walked off.

She turned around to face Charlie and hugged him, "be good for Mr. Wonka Charlie, try not to tier him out too much." She turned to Willy and handed him his ring of keys, "here, these are yours." She patted Willy on the shoulder, "feel better, okay?"

Willy flinched and forced a smile, he waved nervously at her as he pressed a button on the Elevator, sending them away from the Chocolate Waterfall.

"And be good!" he heard her shout as they flew around a corner and up another couple of floors.

"So, what's first?" Charlie said, looking at the multi-coloured envelopes, which were now in Wonka's pocket. It seemed like the pile of Envelopes had grown since the time they left for the sheep. He assumed that things usually happened more later in the day.

"Oh!" Wonka pulled out the pile, "yes, I almost forgot."

He handed his cane to Charlie while he looked throughout he pile, "Hmn. I think there is... no. Maybe I can... no. I'm not supposed to show you that yet..." he stopped at a black envelope, "here! The Pre-Idea Room! That's a good one to start with!"

"The Pre-Idea Room?"

"Yea, you see, all my candies go through different stages," he then listed them visually with his fingers while explaining, "First the Brainstorming Room (my living room), then the Pre-Idea Room, then the Inventing Room, then the Testing room, then the Re-Testing Room, then the Production Line or the Reject Room."

"Reject Room?"

"Incinerator."

"Oh," Charlie said. "That's a lot of rooms; are you sure that you need that many?"

Wonka grinned down at Charlie, "Would I be here now if I wasn't?"

He grinned again and made funny 'heh' noise before pressing the "Pre-Idea Room" button. The Elevator stopped, and went downwards. Was he sure? Wonka knew he was sure about this, but was he _always_ sure? If he was so 'sure' about being a great Chocolatier, would he need a heir? If he was so 'sure' about being happy all the time, would he have flashbacks? Wonka started to worry. What if he was too sure for himself? What if he was just _hoping_ that Charlie would stay, and was being sure not to think he was going to be taken away? What if... he was wrong?

He could never let Charlie be taken away. But, there was always the sickening possibility that Charlie _could_ be taken away. He felt something grab his heart. He started to feel guilty, it would be his fault if Charlie was taken away. _He_ was the one who got hurt, he was the one who didn't take safty precautions.

The Elevator stopped, and Willy was broken from his thoughts as Charlie stepped into the "Pre-Idea Room".

The whole thing was a kind pale blue, and it looked very clean. There were counters with papers stacked everywhere, labeled with different colours and markers. There were large dark red filing cabinets lining the whole of one wall, and an Oompa-Loompa was filing away some papers into one of the top-most drawers, standing on a latter.

On the wall next to the cabinets were shelves filled with jars and ingredients for minor prototypes of the inventions. The tables were tall, red, and had red stools to sit on.

Willy walked over to one of the tables and sat in on one of the stools. Charlie followed and sat on one of the stools that sat beside Willy Wonka. Willy unfolded the piece of paper that was inside the black envelope and read it quickly.

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Charlie asked, leaning, trying to read the paper himself.

"Well... an idea is ready for going into the inventing room to change and perfect. Our Oompa-Loompa's are going to show us the small test-versions."

"Mr. Wonka, if this is the 'Pre-Idea Room', then why are they making the candies?"

"What?" Wonka turned facing Charlie, "Oh, that. Well, you see, all candies are tested to see if they can do certain small things. Take the Three-Course-Meal Gum for example, before we put it in the Inventing Room, we had to see if we could make a gum change flavors without it blending. This room takes care of the simple smaller parts of the inventions. Usually, it's all done by hand."

"Oh, so it is basically the base for the inventions."

"Exactly."

Oompa-Loompa's came into the room, holding glasses, a pitcher of water, a long stirring spoon, and a clear bag with a strange white powder. They set it onto to table and handed Willy a piece of paper.

Willy grinned happily, "oh! Finally got out all the bugs?"

The Oompa-Loompa nodded and grinned back at Wonka before turning away, and back to whatever he was doing before hand.

"Oh, you are going to like this Charlie, like this a whole bunch!" Wonka grabbed the glasses and poured the water into them. "Now, I'm going to pour in some of the power, and you stir them, Okay?"

Charlie obliged and stirred both drinks while Willy poured the strange while powder into the glasses. Strange enough, the power disappeared as he stirred, and the water looked as clear as ever. Willy was happy, this particular invention looked as if it was almost even ready to go to production. Sometimes, his Oompa-Loompa's were so very efficient.

He pulled out a notebook from his pocket, "excellent," he said and closed the book happily. He turned to one of his Oompa-Loompa's, "turn off the lights."

Charlie looked around as one-by-one the lights in the room turned off and he was left in total darkness. All Charlie could see was the glint in Willy's purple eyes and the sparkle of Wonka's pocket watch.

"Mr. Wonka...?"

"Shh... Charlie," Wonka held up a hand to silence him, "have you ever gone to a lake turning nighttime, and you swish your hand in the water and saw the water glow green around it? Well... watch..."

Wonka reached for the spoon and placed it into one of the glasses and stirred viciously. To Charlie's amazement, and Willy's happiness, the glass started to glow with a bright white light. Charlie could now see Wonka's face as well as some of the table.

"It's amazing Mr. Wonka!"

"Yea, though, don't drink it. It will still taste like water," Wonka started to counter-stirr the liquid and it dulled down back into darkness. The lights turned on and Willy continued, "I think this is good for going into the Inventing Room now. You see Charlie, I am trying to get it so it will glow whenever you stir it in the dark. But, now that we have that done, we will try to make different flavors and colours in the Inventing Room."

"I think it would make excellent Camping Candy," Charlie said thoughtfully, picturing people sitting by the campfire sipping some glowing Candy Drinks. "It reminds me of glow-sticks!"

"Excellent Charlie!" Wonka pulled out his notepad and started to frantically write something down, "If I can make it a drink, why can I not make it a edible glow-stick? Brilliant Charlie!" He tore off the piece of paper and handed it to a Oompa-Loompa, "place that in the 'very important, need to tend to quickly' drawer, I'll come back later to do some work with it."

The Oompa-Loompa crossed his arms and bowed, Wonka grinned and followed suit and waved the Oompa-Loompa off.

Willy grinned down towards Charlie, he knew that Charlie would think up some really amazing things when he got older. Why, he was already thinking up some things now. Everything was perfect with Charlie; he was kind, nice, and not greedy, he cared for your feelings, he had good ideas, and he was a child. He even was starting to get the eerie Deep-Purple eyes that Wonka himself had. Everything was perfect with Charlie.

Except for that newspaper. Yet again, Wonka started to find himself worrying about Charlie and if he left the factory. Why was something so perfect, something that made him so very happy, happier than a Oompa-Loompa with a Coca-bean, had to be taken away? Why? He guessed that there would be some trouble with Charlie. But, he expected it with the child himself, not the opposing outside world.

He looked at Charlie in the face for a second and found himself gazing into his eyes. Purple. He was like Charlie when he was younger. More so than he thought. He had been an only child, like Charlie. He loved Chocolate, like Charlie. But, if he was Charlie, and he met a man like himself, what would he think if he was taken away?

_I'd probably be very upset_, he thought, _I would have been very happy to be here at his age, making candy. Living with a Candy-man. I would probably have cried if I was taken away from it all._ His own eyes widened a bit and he turned away from Charlie. _If Charlie left, he would cry. I can't let Charlie cry... no... no... that would make -me- cry. I will have to do -everything- in my power. Why, I'm a billionaire, I can do -something.-_

Willy frowned, _not everything, I can't buy-out the authorities. _Willy grinned slightly, _I will have to use my Wonka-charm to prove that everything is safe for Charlie! No matter what! I will use my mind, not my money, which is what a brother would do. That's what I will do._

He turned to Charlie and grinned. "Don't worry Charlie," he suddenly said, "I won't let _anything _happen to you. So, I'll tell you everything that _has_ happened, _will_ happen, and what is _going to _happen in this factory, kay? You'll be safer that way, and those icky reporters and nasty letter writers won't write mean things about you and this factory."

Charlie smiled back, "okay Mr. Wonka."

Willy got up, "first I will have to tell you what I am actually going to do in this factory." He strode over to the cabinets and pulled open a drawer. He spoke as he shuffled through the thousands of papers, "it's very important that you know, Charlie. I would like some of your insight on the subject."

He pulled out several large blueprints and walked over to Charlie. He slapped them on the table and sat right back down.

"Mr. Wonka, what are you planning to do with that very large field?"

"What I'm planning Charlie, is the biggest secret ever."

"Really?"

"Yup, you will be one of the first people to know. Only a couple of my Oompa-Loompa's know."

"Why me?"

"Why you? Silly! You're my heir!"

He pulled the paper in front of Charlie.

"Let me explain..."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – I finished this chapter faster than any of the others. I don't even feel like I was rushed when I wrote it. I'd say that this chapter took under five hours in total to write completely, and I am extremely happy about that fact. I know I am evil and I left another cliff hanger... sorry... It just worked out nicely this way. -does a Wonka grin- 

**Wonkaland Info** – Allot more info Today.

The button Willy Pressed to go away from the Chocolate Waterfall – I call this the "tour" button. When he presses it, it cycles through some of the rooms in the factory randomly. I feel that this was the button he pressed when Mike Teavee and Charlie were the only children left.

Glowing Water? - I accually saw some glowing creatures in the water when I went boating. So, I thought... "Hey! Wonka would want to make some sort of candy out of that!"

Somebody asked, "What colour is his Bathroom?" - I pictured it as a very pale pastel orange, with some nice different shades tangerine orange on everything else. Also, his study is green themed, his room his plum-red, his living room is blue, his kitchen is purple, his entertainment room is silver and his den is chocolate brown. Any rooms I have forgotten?

"Are there any Chocolate Milk Cows?" – Good idea darkyvixon, I think there is now. I will see if I can add them to the story if they are necessary to the plot at that point.

The Letters – I'm sorry that most of the letters were fairly mean, and I assure you that quite a few of the letters are going to be -with- Willy aswell. He was just unlucky and pulled three bad ones in a row. Yes, probably the most important thing concerning this and the next chapter. I wonder, what do you think some people would write to the famous Willy Wonka? In support or opposing of the factory?

**Chapter Seven Preview** – Willy is finally going to tell Charlie his plans for the huge field that Charlie saw. What are his plans? And, WIlly and Charlie are going to read some more of the letters... what will they say, and will they make Willy think that it is allmost usless for hoping Charlie to stay? Or will it give him the spark of creativity to solve this problem once and for all?

**To the Past Reviewers**: Don't worry about Charlie becoming too much like Wonka. I needed some way to describe Willy and his fever through someone else. A flash back seemed very good for the job. Personally, I don't think Charlie will really change much in personality, and that's the way Wonka likes him. I think the most we will for get is the purple eyes and the same love for chocolate. Wonka and Charlie are similar enough already.

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	7. Government Authorities

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hello, I'm sorry I didn't update this last night, so I updated this morning instead. Today is my sister's birthday (she's turning 6), so I had to prepare for her presents I bought her. Hehe… my birthday is going to be on the 22! Yay! Soon I'll be 16! -randomly dances- I'd like to thank Hellsfirescythe for giving me some inspiration cookies over the internet. And, I like to thank IDOL HANDS, Hellsfirescythe, and my friend for helping me with the future chapters. –gives you all special candy- I love you all!

**Warning**: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Seven Summery** – Willy finally tells Charlie what he is up too. But, something wrong happens, and Charlie doesn't understand. It shouldn't of happened, I couldn't of happened. It had to be fake. It was all a nightmare… It had to be.

* * *

**Chapter 7 – Government Authorities **

"Let me explain," Wonka said, pulling the sheet of blueprint papers closer to Charlie and himself. "This is the blueprint for the factory we are living in now." Willy pointed to the large field, "see this?"

"Yes. That's the field."

"Uh huh," Wonka pointed down at the paper, "see how big it is?"

"Wow, now that I look at it... It's one and a half times bigger than the factory itself," Charlie said with awe, "that means it's _huge_."

Willy laughed at Charlie's comment and continued to explain, "this factory is fifty times bigger than any factory in the world, right?"

"Right."

"This then means, that this field is seventy-five times bigger than any factory in the world... right?"

"Right..." Charlie thought for a moment, "wait are you planning to-"

"Yea!" Wonka interrupted, "I am! This factory, will be One-Hundred and twenty-five times bigger than any factory in the world when I'm done with it!"

Charlie just gaped at Willy Wonka. One Hundred and twenty-five times bigger than any factory in the world? That is very, very, large. "Mr. Wonka... that's _huge_!"

"Yea... I know!" Wonka said happily, folding up the blueprint papers. He grinned wildly at Charlie's look of complete and utter shock. Or was it terror? Willy frowned, "is it a bad thing?"

"No... Well, yes." Charlie said, "the factory isn't the bad thing though, what if, they see the construction? You know the reporters? They could think the factory is even more dangerous than it is now!"

Willy frowned deeper. _He's right. A construction area is really dangerous for a young child. What would the press think? What can I do to make a construction area to see safe?_ Wonka mulled over in his mind the problems with his idea. _Darn! I had this planned out for the beginning of next month, and I can't cancel! What can I do?_

"Well... isn't this a big gosh-darned problem." Wonka finally said, levering himself up and out of the stool. He couldn't cancel it now, things were already set in motion for making it begin, and he couldn't stop it. Even if he really wanted to. Then, there was the problem with the newspaper and Charlie. _He's right, they'd think the factory would be much unsafe!_

Charlie got up and followed Willy, who was now going into the Elevator, "Mr. Wonka, I have an idea."

Willy stopped and turned, "What, Charlie?"

"Well, the newspapers and people want reassurance for my safety. So, maybe you can tell them in-person that you are going to make the factory bigger, I'm sure if you explain the safety issues yourself, people would be a whole bunch better about the idea," he explained quickly to Willy, hoping that it would help.

Willy's face scrunched up to one of disgust, _talk to people... in person? _ "Ew. I _hate_ talking to people. It makes me feel all wired inside."

"But, if it helps to lower the chances of me being taken away, isn't it worth the chance?"

Wonka thought to himself, _it is, isn't it? It is worth the chance. But, I can't handle talking in front of too many people. I hate the feeling of people looking and pointing at me, _he shuddered, remembering his feeling at the Doctor's office, _I would probably faint again, and -that- wouldn't help at all. _He thought of Charlie for a moment, _why should I worry Charlie about it? I'll sort this out tonight when he is asleep._

He placed on a grin and faced Charlie, "why yes Charlie, it is worth the chance. It's worth all the chances in the world." _Just how I'm going to do it is the question._ "Well Charlie, let's get moving, we have to finish many errands today."

He stepped back into the Elevator with Charlie and pressed a button labeled, "Nut Room", and the Elevator whizzed off happily towards it's new destination. Wonka stayed silent, and pulled out a white with blue-stripes envelope and started to read it over, leaning himself on the back of the Elevator to relive his right ankle of the floor.

_He always changes the subject. _Charlie thought to himself rather intently, _Mr. Wonka is placing too much pressure on himself. If he always changes the subject, nobody will ever be able to help him when he really needs it. But why? Why does he keep it to himself? No wonder he got sick. I bet he stayed up really late at night worrying himself, about something or other, to sleep._

Charlie looked up a Willy. What could he do? He couldn't just go up to Wonka and say, "tell me what's wrong, and this time don't change the subject!" He would somehow have to get Willy to trust him. If he could, they could work out plans better for helping the dilemma. But, the chances of solving Wonka's own problem before the dilemma was over... was slim to none. He couldn't just keep on avoiding telling Charlie; it concerns himself as well as Wonka! Willy doesn't need to face their problems alone, he needs help, and Charlie vowed to help Wonka see it as that way.

The Elevator stopped, and Wonka walked out, still reading over the paper that was folded inside the envelope. Charlie followed, mind still tracing over how to speak to Willy much more freely.

"Now... what can we do? It seems that the squirrels are in a dispute with each other," Wonka looked up, and saw that none of the Squirrels were de-shelling a single nut. Instead, they where separated into two groups glaring at each other.

"A dispute? What would a _squirrel_ dispute about?"

"I dunno, radical ideas, points of view, moral values... stuff like that," Wonka took out his key chain and unlocked the gate. Charlie found that he did it remarkably faster then when he did so for Veruca's father. "Squirrels are just like little people, and people share different views about different things."

"Just like the factory, Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka sighed, and stepped down the stairs, "just like the factory, Charlie."

Charlie followed Willy to the direct center, in between the two groups of Squirrels. Willy read over the paper again, "now, it says here that the Grey Squirrels are disputing the fact that the Brown Squirrels are opening the nuts incorrectly. And same with the Brown Squirrels, only vise-versa. It's stopping all of the nut progress."

"How can you open a nut incorrectly? Aren't they coming out whole?"

"Yup."

"Then, why are they arguing?"

"Different points of view Charlie, just the way with people." Wonka sighed again, "I think this one will take awhile to solve."

Wonka sat down on the floor in between the Grey and the Brown squirrels, and Charlie followed suit. Wonka turned and faced Charlie, "Charlie, you don't have to stay here if you don't want to. Negotiating with Squirrels is very boring... very boring indeed. Especially for a little boy." He pulled out his Key Ring and unlatched a large silver key, "here, this key opens several rooms, why don't you explore for yourself? I'll call when I'm done. Tell me what rooms you find Charlie."

"I want to stay here Mr. Wonka, I want to help you."

"No Charlie, you don't need to be worried in the affairs of Squirrels, I'll be able to solve it myself."

Charlie stood up, "alright Mr. Wonka, I hope you finish soon." _There, he's doing it again. Not wanting me to be worried in his own problems. I wonder why he wont let me help him. _He frowned for a moment, then grinned towards Wonka. Well, if that's what Willy wished for him to do, he'd do it. Maybe he shouldn't be 'worried in the affairs of Squirrels'.

"Bye Charlie, have fun!" Wonka waved and tipped his hat towards Charlie as Charlie walked away.

"Bye Mr. Wonka!"

Charlie walked up to the stairs and walked past the Elevator, leaving Willy Wonka behind to talk, or negotiate, with the disputing Squirrels. He opened the door that led into a vast hallway lined with what seemed like hundreds of doors.

"Hmn, I wonder were I could go first?" Charlie said aloud, and turned the corner.

Charlie saw the Chocolate River rushing down it's path and he walked on the sidewalk ledge that was right beside it. He loved to look at it's glittering surface as it rushed down quickly towards some part of the factory. He'd have to figure out where that goes later.

He looked at the doors. They were all different kinds of creams and milks. "Whipped Cream," he laughed when he saw the cow, remembering Willy Wonka's comment;

_"Whipped cream isn't whipped cream unless it has been whipped by whips. Everyone knows that."_

"Clotted Cream", "Sugar Cream", "Hair Cream", "Hand Cream", "Milking Room", "Chocolate Milk Milking room". Charlie stopped, he was getting rather thirsty, and he did like Willy Wonka's Vanilla-Flavored Chocolate Milk. Charlie took out the key, and went to see whether it would fit.

It did, and it unlocked the door with a satisfying 'click'. Charlie sighed happily, he opened the door and walked inside.

The room was abandoned, nobody was in it. Cow or Oompa-Loompa. He saw across the room a door labeled, "Candy Meadow". Charlie then realized _Oh! He must keep all of his cows in there! That must be where they all are right now._

Charlie walked over and opened the door, to reveal it's self to hundreds of different coloured cows. Charlie stared at them with awe. Even though Charlie had experienced many strange things in Willy Wonka's factory, such as; Pink Sheep, Everlasting Jawbreakers, Candies that turn you into Blueberries, and even more strange and magnificent things. Even the sight of a multi-coloured Cow still surprised him.

Charlie assumed that the brown ones where chocolate, the pink ones where strawberry and the yellow ones were Vanilla. He inwardly inquired himself of how Willy came in the possession of pre-flavored milking cows.

Charlie continued on towards one of the cows, he saw this nice lazy pink one who was grazing on some sugar grass calmly. As he walked over to it, he reached his hand out and rested it onto her side.

The cow looked up at Charlie, revealing her name tag, "Cherry".

Charlie grinned wildly and stroked her back. "So, your name is Cherry. I suppose Mr. Wonka named all of you different names, huh? Must have been a big job."

Cherry nodded, and continued to look at Charlie while chewing the grass in her mouth. Charlie grinned and pet her forehead and neck. She was so very soft to his touch. Cherry responded to this nice round of affection by licking him sloppily all over his face and made a soft mooing noise. Charlie started to laugh and pet her again.

"I like you too, Cherry," he said, while continued to pet her kindly. "I bet Mr. Wonka doesn't like it when you give him cow kisses."

She shook her head and took another bite of grass.

As he pat her as he turned and looked around. He saw that the field had another door leading out of it. Itching for adventure, and having a key in his pocket, Charlie wondered where it went.

"Sorry Cherry, but Mr. Wonka told me to explore, I'm sorry my visit was so short. I promise to come back, okay?"

Cherry nodded again and mooed before bending her head down and eating more sugar grass. Before turning to leave, Charlie made note of how her patterns went so he could pick her out again. He walked across the field, and weaved in and an around all the different cows. Coming to the door, he pushed it open to reveal another huge long hallway.

"I've never been here before," he said aloud, peering over the edge of the doorway. He walked out of the Meadow and shut the door loudly behind him. The noise echoed through the hall in a loud booming echo.

He started to walk looking at all of the doors. _This place is so huge. I wonder if Mr. Wonka even has them all memorized? I bet that's why he built the elevator. So he'd remember better._

He walked all the way down the hall, and to a dead end. At the end, was a door labeled, "Dreaming Room". He tried to pull the door open, but it was locked.

Dare he try it? Well, Mr. Wonka did give him a key. Charlie took out the key and fit it into the lock. He turned it slowly and the door opened with a soft 'click'. Charlie took a breath, and placed the key back into his pocket. He pushed open the door, and it opened with a loud 'creek'.

Inside, he saw a couple of Oompa-Loompa's held their fingers to their mouth saying "shhhhh." They pointed to other Oompa-Loompa's who where in their uniforms but wearing nightcaps and were asleep in beds.

The room was fairly large, fairly white and was lined with twenty or so orange beds. Beside each bed was what looked like a bowl of candies that looked like little crescent moons. He walked forward, closing the door behind him, and sat on the edge of a vacant bed, pulling up a piece of paper that was beside one of the bowls.

_We have tested this candy, and the Dreaming Fantasies are now able for consumer use. This candy can make the eater fall into a short, Dreaming State for half-an-hour. Previous effects of Nightmares and endless sleep, unless woken by someone else, are eliminated. Twenty-five Oompa-Loompa's have tested and confirmed it's safety from nightmares and endless sleep. No side-effects._

"Dreaming Fantasies?" Charlie said aloud, picking up one of the candies from the bowl and examining it.

"Shhhhh!"

"Sorry," he said in a horse whisper. He saw an Oompa-Loompa and waved him over, "excuse me... Excuse me!"

"Shhhhh!"

"Sorry... Umm... can I try this?" Charlie whispered the Oompa-Loompa, holding up a Dreaming Fantasy.

The Oompa-Loompa nodded and smiled, and walked off to another bed to take notes on another sleeping Oompa-Loompa. Charlie shrugged, it couldn't hurt, could it? The paper did say it was safe, and the Oompa-Loompa even said it was OK to eat. What could he loose?

Charlie lay back on the bed and popped the candy into his mouth and started to chew. He didn't _feel_ any different. He blinked a couple of times and noted no change.

He pinched himself. "Ow!"

"Shhhhh!"

"Sorry. But, I think you need to check these some more... this one didn't work," Charlie got up off the bed. "Don't worry, I'll tell Mr. Wonka."

The Oompa-Loompa's nodded and continued with their work. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, wondering if he should stay. After a few moments, Charlie decided to leave, he had much more exploring to do.

He walked back towards the door quietly and opened it up. He was feeling rather upset that the candy didn't work. He was hoping to delve into some dreamland for a little while.

"I guess it only works on Oompa-Loompa's," he said as he closed and locked the door, and continued to walk down the hall.

Charlie did feel a little dizzy, he supposed it was some strange after-effect of the candy. But, that went quickly away went a cold whip of air brush against his face.

He shuddered. It felt cold in the hallway. A cold breeze seemed to be blowing from somewhere. _It must be some cooling room or something_. Charlie shivered again. He walked faster down the hall, to warm himself up, and to see what was on the other end of it.

As he walked, he though back to Willy and the Squirrels. He wondered if Willy was done yet. _Well, I think I have only been gone for fifteen minutes. Probably not._ He then thought of _how_ Willy would negotiate with a Squirrel. He couldn't speak Squirrel... could he? Charlie smiled, _I wouldn't put it past him. _Recalling Willy's strange Oompa-Loompa calling noise, _Mr. Wonka does make some strange noises._

Charlie stopped and stared at the sight before him. What he should have been seeing was the Chocolate river. It _looked _like the Chocolate River, but it seemed like it was all dried up. Dried flakes of old Chocolate hung lazily attached to the sides of the hollow river path. Charlie dropped all thoughts he was having before and walked over to it.

"Weird," he bent over and broke off a piece of Chocolate, examining it closely.

He got up and walked down the sidewalk by the edge of the former river and looked at the doors to see where he was. All of the titles on the doors were unlit and shut down. "Chocolate Cream", "Chocolate Milking room", "Milking Room", "Hand Cream", "Hair Cream", "Sugar Cream", "Clotted Cream", "Whipped Cream".

"I guess I must have found the other end of the hall," Charlie said aloud, trying to peer into the abandoned and shut down "Whipped Cream" Room. There was no cow, no Oompa-Loompa's. The light wasn't even on. It looked like it had been shut down in a hurry, and left for a long time.

"This doesn't make any sense... The river looks old and dried up. The rooms are shut down. What's happening? They weren't like this a few minutes ago." Charlie looked down the hall and saw "Nut Room", which also looked shut down.

"I'll ask Mr. Wonka!" Charlie started to dash madly towards the "Nut Room" door. Hoping, wishing, pleading that it was just a blackout of power.

Charlie started to worry. He had this horrid feeling that something was wrong. Very, very wrong. He finally made it to the door and thrust it open with all his might. "Mr. Wonka! Mr. Wonka!"

Silence. The room was dark and there was not a single light on. There was no familiar hum of the machines letting the nuts drop for the Squirrels to De-shell. There were no Squirrels. Worst of all, there was no Willy Wonka.

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie stepped forward, looking around the room in confusion. "Mr. Wonka?"

He walked around the room several times, seeing whether he could find the missing Chocolatier. "Mr. Wonka?"

"_Mr._ Wonka can't hear or see you... _Charlie Bucket_," said a low voice behind Charlie.

Charlie whipped around, heart racing just behind his ears. "What? Who-?"

"I am one of the Government Authorities Charlie, I have come here to take you to safety."

"What? No!"

The man walked up closer to Charlie, "this factory is closed, the lunatic running it has been taken away."

Charlie's eyes widened in horror. No... that can't be true! Willy was there, only a little while ago. He backed away from the man as he walked up closer to him. "You're lying, Mr. Wonka is here... and he's going to stop you!"

Charlie heard laughs coming from around the room, and more men wearing black suits surrounded Charlie. "Did you here that? Willy Wonka is going to stop... us?" They laughed again. The first one spoke again, "that weirdo was hauled out of here just a couple minutes earlier. Good riddance. Probably going to lock him away."

"No! You're lying!"

One of the men grabbed Charlie, "don't worry, we'll bring you to safety. You need to leave this factory now."

"No! Let go of me! Let go of me!" Charlie started to struggle, trying to get out of the large man's grip. But, the man gripped tighter, and started to drag Charlie.

"Let go!"

"Be quiet little boy. Or you'll end up the same as Willy Wonka."

"I don't care! You're lying! Mr. Wonka is here, and he'd _never _let me go! He'll stop you! You'll see!"

The men stayed silent, ignoring Charlie. They continued to walk down various passageways, making their way towards the front doors with a kicking and screaming Charlie all the way. They pulled the screaming Charlie along for what seemed like half an hour till they finally reached the front doors.

"I said let go of me! Let Go! Let Go! LET GO!"

"Just shut up already," one of the men said, and they threw him outside and onto the deep snow. "Screaming won't help you. We're supposed to be here."

Charlie coughed and spluttered, spitting the cold snow out of his mouth. He glared up at the men. He staggered up to his feet and turned to run. He dashed as hard and as fast as he could.

"Get him."

He heard the men running, following him, and he felt a rough hand pull him upwards. Charlie was picked up by one of the men and slung over his shoulder, so Charlie was facing backwards. Charlie started to beat against the man's back with his fists, screaming to be dropped by him.

"Leave him alone!" Charlie recognized that calling voice, it was not one of the men... it was...

"Mr. Wonka!"

Willy was standing in the snow, with his arms pinned back by a couple of men. It looked like he was trying to pull himself as close to Charlie as he could. "Charlie!"

"Mr. Wonk-...!" The man slightly bounced cutting Charlie off and winding him at the same time.

"Hey! You leave Charlie alone!" Willy shouted. Charlie had never seen Wonka look so livid and angry. Wonka was deathly pale, and his teeth were clenched angerly. It looked as if Willy tried to put up a fight because his lip was cut and bleeding. "You can treat _me _this way, but Charlie's just a little kid!"

"Be quiet Willy, you know your business is washed up. You'll be locked away, and you'll never see little Charlie Bucket again." The man bounced again, and laughed. "And what can you do about it? Worried about this little boy?"

Willy clenched his teeth angerly and wrenching himself out of the other's grip, trying to make his way over to Charlie as quick as he could.

"Charlie!" He reaching his hand out, dashing madly. "Charlie!"

Charlie saw that two more men where running up close behind Willy as he ran, they both drew out nightsticks. Charlie looked at them with horror. They wouldn't... they couldn't...

"Mr. Wonka! Watch out!"

Too late. One of the men caught up and hit Willy hard across the back of the head. Charlie winced, he heard a sickening crack and Wonka fell forwards onto the snow. _ They didn't... They didn't... _The other man ran around the other side of Wonka and pulled his limp figure up and out of the snow.

"Just keep going. It's not like he'll cause anymore trouble."

"No! Mr. Wonka!" Charlie screamed, he felt hot tears start to form around his eyes.

"Just shut up. Do you want to end up like him?" the man gestured to Willy who was now being dragged across the snow to a car against to the one they were leading Charlie to. "You can't do anything now. If you want a chance to see him again, shut up and let us do our jobs."

Charlie closed his mouth and he felt his lips tremble. _How could this happen? This doesn't make any sense. Mr. Wonka should be arguing with Squirrels... not being attacked by people with nightsticks! Mr. Wonka should be with me in the factory... not... not... _Tears started to streak down Charlie's face and he started to sob lightly, watching Willy Wonka in the distance.

_I don't want to leave, _Willy was being lifted up by two men.

_I never wanted to leave, _They opened the car door.

_I don't want to go away, _The men shoved Wonka carelessly into the large black car.

They slammed the door, and Charlie found himself being pushed into a car himself. He didn't resist. He knew, there was nothing he could do. He stayed focused on Wonka's car as he was being forcefully strapped in and the door slammed beside him. _This doesn't make sense..._

One of the men got into the driver's seat and both cars started up. He watched as Wonka's car pulled away first. He hoped, as his own car pulled away from the former Chocolate Factory, that he'd be going the same way.

Wonka's car turned left, and Charlie's turned right. _It's like a nightmare come to life._ He watched, with pain, Willy's car pull away into the distance. Charlie's tears began to flow harder. His crying growing more heavily. Nobody to hold him... nobody to protect him. _Willy is gone._

"This sh-shou-shouldn't be ha-happening..." Charlie mumbled in a small choked voice, Wonka's car finally disappeared in the distance. "I don't w-want this to happen..."

"This c-can't be re-real."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – Don't kill me! If you read the chapter carefully, you may realize that all isn't what it seems! Believe me, I'd want to kill me too! So, read the next chapter and put down those axes. So re-read the chapter if you want to find out what is –really- happening, kay? This chapter was fun to write though, and it was interesting to write Charlie without Willy Wonka. I thought it would make a good change.

**Wonkaland Info** – Yup… still makin' up stuff.

Chocolate Cows – Yup, there are more than just _Chocolate_ cows, there are Vanilla and Strawberry too. And yes, Willy Wonka did give _all_ of those cows separate names. I feel rather sorry for him. That's a lot of Cows/Sheep/Squirrels/Oompa-Loompa's to give names to. I bet he has more animals than that in his factory.

The Silver Key – This key opens a few of the more safe rooms around the factory. Usually ones with harmless candies. Willy decided that Charlie could do more exploring on his own. But, Wonka himself forgot what the key actually leads to. Sometimes, there is one or two doors around the factory that _aren't_ too safe that the key can open.

The Men in Black – No… they aren't the MIB and they aren't looking for Wonka 'cause they think his is an alien. Who are they? Well… read the next chapter and you'll find out.

Dreaming Fantasies – Hmn… they are _supposed_ to make you fall into a nice dreamland for half-an-hour. I wonder why they _didn't_ work. I guess I'll even have to read the next chapter to find out. Maybe not all of the bugs have been removed.

**Chapter Eight Preview** – Who are these Authority people? What are they going to do with Charlie? Charlie feels someone comfort him in the back of the car when he was being taken away. He swears it was Willy. But, when he turns round and round in the car, Wonka isn't there. What's happening? Is this all Charlie's imagination, or is it reality?

**To the Past Reviewers**:

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	8. Dreaming Fantasies

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

**Edit: **This has be edited for your reading pleasure. Thankyou to The Lady of Light, who helpfully told me some mistakes I had done in this and the past Chapters. Thankyou. I will now check for my commen mistakes such as writing "It's" instead of "Its" and "Through," instead of "Threw" and "yea" instead of "yeah". You have also helped me to realize... that I need to check over an extra time. Hehe. Merci Boucoup mon amie!

Wow. This chapter took a little longer than most Chapters do to write. I'm trying to set up for something -big-, happening in the chapters that are coming up. This chapter was -so- fun to write. While I was writing it, I found a whole page full of very accurate Willy Wonka quotes from the Movie, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," I found them very helpful to write Willy's character. I suggest, that if you are writing a story concering Willy and Charlie, that you do the same, because it helps for you to write the character better. But, you get a kick out of remembering him say, "To lock in moisture," and primp his hair after Violet's mother asks him what "Hair Cream" is for. -randomly laughs-. Ah, the fun.

**Warning**: **This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Eight Summery** – Charlie is hearing and feeling Willy Wonka? Or is it all a dream? And Charlie suddenly realizes what Willy's problem… but will Wonka let Charlie help him realize what it is?

**Chapter 8 – Dreaming Fantasies**

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Charlie stared out of the back of the Car with agony. He watched the snow fall harshly and endlessly onto the ground. Willy's car was gone, and there was nothing he could do. Was there? He couldn't have done anything, he'd never see the famous Willy Wonka again. They were probably going to send him to jail, or an asylum.

Charlie lay down on the back seat of the car and curled himself into a ball. Tears started streaming down his face angrily. He covered his face with his arms and started to cry heavily. Willy was gone. He's never see the factory again, he'd never see Wonka again, never again. No more Lily, no more Chocolate Waterfall, no more Oompa-Loompa's. No more... dreamland. He would just go back and like in his shack again.

_I don't want to believe it. Mr. Wonka can't be gone. He just can't. I-I don't want to believe it. _Charlie sobbed again and buried his face into his arms. He started to worry, what would they do to Willy? What would happen to him? Charlie hoped that they wouldn't hurt him.

_'Charlie... stop crying. Please.' _Charlie heard a voice as if it was faded in the distance. Against his face, he felt a gloved finger wipe away one of his tears.

Charlie shot upwards, he looked around wildly. He could swear that it was Willy Wonka who spoke to and touched him. He looked around, nobody was there. He lay back down. He must of been imagining it. He choked another sob. He definitely _was_ imagining it, he missed Willy so much, he was starting to think Wonka was there. Charlie knew better, Willy Wonka _wasn't _there.

_'Charlie, please. Stop crying...' He_ felt someone grab tightly around his shoulders, _wake up Charlie. Wake up.'_

_Wake up? _Charlie thought, and he wiped away some of his tears with his sleeve. He looked up and around and felt his shoulders with his hands. Nobody was there.

"Ex-Excuse me? Did you... Did you say something?" Charlie got up, and leaned over to talk to the driver.

"Stopped whining kid?" The man laughed as he turned a corner, "and no. Already going insane? I guess he rubbed off more on you than I thought."

Charlie lay back down. Was he going insane? No... It must have been denial. That's it. Denial. But, was it denial if you thought it was denial?

_'He's not waking up. Charlie! Charlie!'_ It was the faded voice again, he felt something shake his shoulders. But, he seemed to remain still. He put his hands on his own shoulders where he felt the hand. Nothing. Nothing was there. It didn't make any sense. Was he imagining it?

_'Fudged Fiddlesticks! Wake up Charlie!' _Fudged Fiddlesticks? That was something very Wonkaish to say. Charlie wiped his face again, and looked out the back of the car, expecting to see Willy running after it. But, there was no Wonka chasing after the car. Only the swirling madness of falling snow. Charlie sighed heavily and slumped back into the seat, another tear falling from his eyes. He must have been imagining it.

_'This is annoying me more than a goose with gum in its feathers. Come on Charlie, please, wake up.'_

Charlie stayed laying down and covered his ears with his hands. He hoped, that he would no-longer hear that voice, that taunting voice. Charlie suddenly felt someone lever him up into a sitting position. But, he didn't seem to move, he was still laying on the car seat. Why did it feel like he was getting levered up?

_'This should work.'_

Suddenly, and rather unexceptionally, Charlie felt something get shoved into his mouth. He pulled his hands to his mouth and felt. Nothing was there. It also started to feel like his mouth was being moved up and down forcefully with a gloved hand. But, his mouth wasn't _really _moving, was it? He swallowed hard. Whatever it was, he swallowed it. Even if it really wasn't there.

Everything started to go black and fade away. What was happening to him? Why did he hear and feel Willy Wonka? Why was this happening? The darkness was now consuming him quickly, at least, he couldn't see or hear that horrid car anymore.

"Charlie, wake up," the voice sounded more real this time. He felt a solid rubbery hand wipe away one of his new fallen tears. It didn't feel faded, and in the distance anymore. It felt much more real, like it was actually there.

"Don't cry. Wake up. Just open your eyes," he heard the voice say again. Though, it was starting to sound urgent. "See? It's done like this," whatever this person may have done to demonstrate the art of opening eyes when unnoticed and unseen.

_Open my eyes? I don't remember closing them. Maybe... they are. _Slowly, but surely, Charlie opened up his eyes.

The Dreaming Room materialized in front of him. He was sitting up and on the orange bed that he ate the Dreaming Fantasy on. He blinked a couple of times and he saw a whole group of Oompa-Loompa's looking at him. He thought for a wild moment. Wait... who was holding him up...?

He didn't look back. He knew who it was; glancing down at the left hand glove that was holding him up confirmed it. Charlie let out a cry of relief, mirth and sorrow and turned around quickly tightening his arms around the waist of, a now very shocked, Willy Wonka.

Willy bit his lip and held onto Charlie with his left arm. Completely confused of what to do. He had a hysterical Eleven-year old, or so he thought, grabbing onto him like he was going to fly away. He tensed up and took a sharp breath as Charlie buried his face into the fabric of his shirt sobbing.

"Ch-Charlie?" Wonka managed to say after a minute or so, he looked down towards the sobbing child. "Charlie, what happened?"

Charlie took a couple of shuddering breaths and through his tears he said, "it-it was h-horrible Mr. W-Wonka."

"Shhh," Wonka rubbed Charlie's back a couple times, thinking that was what Mrs. Bucket would have done at the moment. "Don't worry. Whatever it is, it's gone now, Kay?"

"B-but it was so-so... awful..."

"What happened?" He said nervously, biting his lip hard. He couldn't stand to see Charlie in such dismay. Whatever he had been dreaming about, it must have been horrible. Absolutely horrible. He felt his own lip start to tremble but, he kept his voice steady, "tell me Charlie, tell me everything."

"I left you and the Sq-Squirrels, and... and... I..." Charlie started to sob again. It was very hard to speak. He started again, "I went and f-found your cows..."

"Did you have a nightmare about cows? Did the cows attack you?" Wonka asked, seriously thinking that this was the problem.

Charlie laughed through his sobs, "No, af-after I left the Cows I f-found this room. And... and... I asked if I could have on-one of those Candies." Charlie pointed to the bowl on the bedside table.

"The Dreaming Fantasies?"

"Y-yeah. The Oompa-L...Loompa said that it was OK. Th-that I could h-have one." Charlie took a breath and spoke after a few seconds, "I tried it... and n-nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"A-at least I _thought_ it did nothing," Charlie sobbed, "I-I left the room and... ev-everything was different."

_Ah, _thought Willy and he started to rub Charlie's back some more, still biting his lip, _This is where the nightmare started. _"How was it different, Charlie?" he asked, knowing that it would help.

"Th-the Chocolate R-River was all dried up."

"Dried up? Well, that's doesn't help the factory up very much does it? How can I make my Famous Strawberry-Flavored Chocolate-Coated Fudge?" Willy said, sounding rather taken aback. Trying his hardest to lighten the mood.

Charlie laughed slightly and continued, "yeah. All the r-rooms were shutdown too. All of them. I-I thought it was a black out. So, I ran to the Nut R-Room too see if you were OK."

"Was I OK?"

"You-you weren't there."

"What? I was supposed to be arguing with the Squirrels! It is very important that I was arguing with the Squirrels!"

"Th-that's what I thought. But, In-instead there were these... these _men_ wearing all black. They told me th-they took you away. A-And... they grabbed me."

"They didn't!"

"And... and... they started to drag me away outside," Charlie tightened his grip on Willy's coat, remembering what happened in his nightmare. "They kept on dragging me... and dragging me. And they threw me into the sn-snow."

"How very rude". Willy tensed more underneath Charlie's grip.

"I-I tried to run away. But they caught me, and picked me up. One of them threw me ov-over his shoulder."

"How dare he!"

"Th-that's what you said."

Wonka looked at Charlie with confusion, "but, I thought they took me away. How could I have said that? Clearly, I cannot say anything about a matter if I was not there."

"But you were there. They were holding you outside the fr-front of the factory. Y-you looked really mad," Charlie said, recalling the pale-white complexion of Wonka's face, the light reflecting off trickle of blood running down his newly-bleeding lip. The bared teeth like a wild animal.

"Mad?"

"Yeah. They said something to you. And, you got even... even madder. You st-started to run towards the man holding me. It was like you were going to a-attack them or something."

"_Go me_!" Wonka suddenly exclaimed, jabbing his left arm in the air as if he was watching a foot-ball game... He looked down at Charlie, laughed nervously, placing down his arm and said, "oh... sorry... Continue."

Charlie wasn't sure if he _wanted_ to continue. He wanted to erase that moment from his mind. It was too real, way too real. He didn't want to experience it again. "They... they..." His voice started to break again, and tears started to fall from his face more rapidly.

Willy took out a plum-red handkerchief and dabbed Charlie's face, "they what? If you don't tell me Charlie, it won't get better."

Charlie swallowed, "They chased you they pulled out some black... black... Well, they looked like ba-baseball bats."

Willy widened his eyes, and he said in a small voice, "baseball bats?"

"Yeah... and," he felt that he could no-longer hold back his sorrow, "and they...they... hu-hurt..." he couldn't say it. But, he found himself shouting it out quickly and loudly instead, "They hurt you!"

Charlie burst out crying and clasped onto Willy's coat, burying his head deep into its Aqua fabrics, sobbing hard, never feeling that he'd stop. There, at least he said it. Even though it hurt so much to do so, he felt so much better. At least he said it. He would never say it again.

Wonka wrapped his arm around Charlie. He didn't know what to think, he didn't know what to do, he didn't even know how to feel. He got _hurt_ in Charlie's dream and, Charlie was crying about it. He didn't understand. Willy raised his head and looked at one of the Oompa-Loompa's.

"Get Charlie's Mother, quickly. Make her understand it's urgent," He rubbed Charlie's back absent mindedly as Charlie sobbed, "just get her quick, Kay?"

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Eight o'clock at night and it had finally stopped snowing outside the great Chocolate Factory. Four feet of snow had fallen, and nobody dared to even leave their homes. Though, the sky showed threateningly that it would snow again upon the factory, and the moment of silence wouldn't last forever.

Wonka walked across the Candy Meadow to Charlie's house. Wearing his favorite Plum-Red coat, bright red gloves, and hat. He walked as quick as he could with a cane and twisted ankle. But, he managed to make it there in good time. He stopped at the door, fixed the cuffs on his coat, straightened his hat and knocked lightly.

There was chattering inside, and a wonderful smell wafted out as Mrs. Bucket opened the door.

"Hello Mrs. Bucket," Wonka took off his hat and held it to his chest, he placed on a wide grin, "may I come in? I'd like to see Charlie."

"Of course Mr. Wonka," she stepped aside and allowed him to walk in. "You know you don't have to ask to come and visit Charlie. We're also having a bit of a late supper, so would you like to stay?"

Wonka nodded and placed his hat on a hat rack, and hung up his plum red coat. He turned towards Mrs. Bucket and tightened his grip on his cane, "how is Charlie by the way?"

"Much better. He has been asking to see you every ten minutes for the past two hours."

After Willy Wonka had called the Oompa-Loompa's and Charlie's mother had come to retrieve Charlie, Wonka had gotten up and hurried out of the room almost the moment she had come. In fact, Wonka didn't even come back to check on Charlie once. He wasn't doing that out of carelessness, but out of his own feelings. He never, never, never wanted to see Charlie like that again. It stung him so horribly to have Charlie cry over... his sake. Even though it was just a dream.

He wanted to be with Charlie, and help him get better. But, if he stayed there, he knew that _he_'d soon need someone to hold _him_ and help _him_ get better. Last thing he needed was to get hysterical and depressed and loose the situation completely. That was the last thing he wanted to do, especially in front of Charlie.

It took awhile for Willy to strike up enough courage to even go down to visit. He really didn't want to see Charlie cry anymore. He planned to take a risk anyway.

"Is he still... you know?"

"No. A sniffle here, and a deep sigh there, but he's much better." Mrs. Bucket said thoughtfully.

"That's good," Wonka grinned, and walked into the house more. He looked up at the stairs to Charlie's former room. He pointed with one gloved finger, "is he up there?

"Yes dear, you can just go up the latter." She glanced at his arm for a moment, "if you can manage that Mr. Wonka."

He laughed nervously again, "yup. I can manage it just fine. Thankyou Mrs. Bucket."

He walked across the small house and near the grandparents and he looked up at the latter, and thought of how he was going to tackle it. Well, it wasn't too high up. He'd manage. Willy tossed his cane up, then started on the latter. He found it was much more difficult then he thought with one arm. He managed to bring his left arm so it rested near his cane. But, he couldn't go any further.

He tried to lever himself up several times, but failed miserably. He managed to pull himself so his head was looking level with the floor when, his foot slipped and he fell backwards onto the floor with a harsh -thump-.

"Whizzing Whangdoodles!"

"Mr. Wonka!"

Willy saw Charlie's head poke out from the edge of the platform. Wonka held his head with his left hand to keep it from spinning. "Ow." Charlie's head disappeared from view, then he completely reappeared to start making his way down the latter towards Wonka.

Charlie knelt down beside Willy, "are you alright Mr. Wonka?"

Willy started to laugh, "I'm fine, just hit my noggin," he sat up and rubbed the back of his head, "I sure do that a lot don't I?"

He stood up and brushed himself off. He brushed himself off for several seconds, seemingly ignoring Charlie completely. Once the last speck of dust was gone, he turned to Charlie, and bent over so he was almost eye-level with Charlie.

"How are you feeling, Charlie?" he asked with a grin.

Charlie grinned weakly, "much better Mr. Wonka. I want to say, I'm sorry. I caused so much trouble for you in the past couple of days."

Wonka straightened up, "no! Believe me Charlie. Much _worse_ things have happened to be before and I forgave the person who did the mistakes."

"Who?"

"Me. But, that's besides the point," Willy placed his hand into one of his pockets, "Charlie, you did nothing. Everything happened by accident. Usually _my_ accidents happen, a little more... spaced out from each other..."

"But Mr. Wonka, I-"

"But nothing! As I said before. It's not your problem! Now, I know something that _is_," and before Charlie could retort, he pulled out of his pocket a clear bag with what looked like gummy mints. "Usually, when a Oompa-Loompa gets a malfunctioning Dreaming Fantasy, they still get nightmares for exactly five days afterwards. So, eat one of these before you go to sleep for the next five days."

Charlie took the bag from him, "thanks Mr. Wonka." Charlie placed them in his pocket. He stood there for several awkward moments, not sure of what to do or say. After a few more minutes he turned back to Willy, "er... how are the Squirrels?"

Wonka sighed and placed his gloved hand on his chin in a thinking motion, "not very well. I talked to them for hours. I managed to get some of them to agree. But, the rest," he turned to Charlie and grinned again, "just don't wanna listen."

"What will you do about the ones who don't want to listen?"

"I don't know Charlie. That's one of life's question's isn't it?" Wonka paused almost looking thoughtful, "this will resolve, one way or another. Either for the brown or the grey. Both think they are right, and know what's best. It just depends on who will win."

"Can't one of them make a compromise... an idea?"

Willy grinned again, "as much as one of them would want to tell the rest their compromise or idea. They would be too afraid to."

"What could they be afraid of?"

Wonka looked Charlie directly in the face, "I don't know Charlie." He turned and looked up the latter, and to where his cane might be. "Never mind that! That's the problem of the Squirrels, not yours. I'll solve it! Right now... I need to get that cane."

Charlie looked back at Willy for one brief moment, watching him try to get his cane with a wild crazy grin. _It was like nothing happened, nothing happened at all. But, is that really how he actually feels? _Wonka hopped on one foot several times, trying to grab it.

"Charlie, Mr. Wonka, supper's ready."

Wonka gave up after a few tries of reaching, placing his hand on his hip, "ah well. I can get the Cane later. Let's eat!" He started to hum happily as he half-limped, half-walked towards the dinner table beside Charlie.

_Why does he try to forget... like nothing ever happened? What is he afraid of?_

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Wonka walked out of the house happily along-side Charlie, humming to himself. He looked upwards at the lights that were now dimmed like a night sky. He smiled and grinned down at Charlie, "that was really good, wasn't it Charlie? Absolutely delicious."

"But, Mr. Wonka, you didn't have any of it."

Wonka looked at Charlie as if he was taken taken-back and insulted, "oh! I _did_ have some of it. If I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to comment how good it was, now could I?"

"Well, not very much," Charlie sat down on a nice strip of Sugar Grass that had a good over-view of the whole Candy Meadow and Chocolate Waterfall.

Wonka followed suit and actually lay completely down on the grass, looking upwards. "I wasn't that hungry."

"I can't believe that, you didn't eat your lunch today. I bet that sandwich is still sitting on your bed-tray."

"That still doesn't change the fact that I'm not hungry," he turned so he could see Charlie's face, "I didn't drag you out here to talk about _my_ eating habits. I came out here to talk to you whether you are truly feeling better."

Charlie lay down himself and faced Wonka, "What do you mean?"

"You were rather quiet during dinner," Wonka picked a piece of Sugar Grass and began to suck on it absent-mindedly. "You usually jabber on about different idea's and things," Wonka made a 'jabbering' motion with his glove, as if it was talking rapidly. "Today you were quiet," his glove shut quickly and he lay his hand back down.

Charlie looked up again at the ceiling, "I had a lot to think about."

"Did it hurt?" Willy asked with an evil grin; picking another blade of grass and placing it into his mouth.

Charlie laughed and turned back to Willy, "could you quit saying that?" After a few moments he stopped laughing and he said, "I'm worried about you."

"_Me_? Why would you be worried about silly ol' me?" Willy said, while sitting up to straighten his jacket underneath him.

"Because, 'silly ol' you', doesn't seem to be as 'alright' as you tell everybody."

Wonka was still looking away from Charlie, brushing some grass off his sleeve. Whether this was deliberate, Charlie didn't know. "What makes you think that?"

"Well, whenever something just happens, you brush it away like it never happened. But, that's not the case is it, Mr. Wonka? I think you still worry about it, but you don't tell anybody. That's why you haven't been getting any sleep lately, that's why you have gotten sick." Charlie sat up as well.

"Oh, _really?_" Willy still looked away, but from the view that Charlie saw of his face, Wonka looked annoyed.

"Yes Mr. Wonka. Why don't you tell us what's wrong?"

Rather suddenly, Willy stood up, "sorry Charlie, I just remembered. I have something to do."

"But I thought you said-"

Wonka interrupted, holding up his hand, "well, I was _wrong_. I have to _go_." Willy turned, and started to march heatedly towards the Glass Elevator. "_Sorry._"

Charlie stood up to follow Wonka, "Mr. Wonka... I didn't mean to offend-"

"Sorry Charlie, you'll have to speak up... I can't _hear_ you," he placed a hand to his ear as if he was using it to hear Charlie. "The Chocolate River is _much_ to noisy. You'll have to speak up."

Wonka got into the Elevator, Charlie just stopped in front of it. Wonka turned around, ignoring Charlie and pressed a button.

As the doors shut, Charlie said, "Mr. Wonka, you listened to me, why won't you let me listen to you?"

Willy stayed silent, and continued to look slightly downwards, and away from Charlie. The Elevator slowly started to go upwards, and he continued to ignore.

"Why don't you let us help you?" Charlie said quietly as the Elevator suddenly went tearing upwards.

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**Authors Thoughts** – This Chapter is surprisingly a lot more depressing than my other Chapters. But, I felt a good need for something like this in the story. I assure you, that there is not going to be a lot of sad moments like this, only when there is one needed to be. I really, really, REALLY enjoyed writing Wonka listening to Charlie's horrible nightmare. It was sad and very funny at the same time. I will never forget Wonka's "GO ME!" When he heard that his dream-self was going after those mean Authority men.

**Wonkaland Info –. **Wow, not a lot in Wonkaland Info today.

The Candy that Willy Wonka shoved into Charlie's mouth – Yup that is in fact the reversal Candy for the Dreaming Fantasies. It is also the same Candy that Willy gave to Charlie to keep the dream from reoccurring in his natural sleep.

Dreaming Fantasies – How do they work? Well, why Charlie didn't think he fell asleep in the first place was because the Dreaming Fantasy starts your dream in whatever place you fell asleep in. They were also developed to be very realistic and give you a sensation of experiencing it, rather than a hazy experience like in most dreams. Also, in the dreaming world, time may go faster or slower than in the real world depending how fast or slow the user's brain gets the information. In fact, Charlie was asleep for over three hours, but, he only experienced a short, fifteen to half-an-hour dream at the least.

Why did It effect Charlie? – As Wonka said, he's allergic to one of the ingredients in the Candy. Most likely the one that effects the REM state of the mind (dreaming state). So, Charlie won't be testing one of those little boogers for awhile.

The Squirrels? – Yup still arguing.

Whizzing Whangdoodles? Fudged Fiddlesticks? – I'd like to thank IDOL HANDS for telling me that Willy doesn't always say "Gosh Darn it", as much as we all like that line. IDOL HANDS suggested to me to use Whizzing Whangdooles, Fudge, and some others that I forgot at the moment. Anyway, I am thanking her again. I will also be thanking her again in the very near future.

Those Men in Black? – Not real. So no more worries about them, Kay?

Charlie's Nightmare - The nightmare that Charlie had will be indeed referenced farther into the story. No, neither Wonka or Charlie had forgotten the strange experience. Neither of them had the time to talk to each other about it yet. But, assume that they will in the near future.

Willy's Arm – It is STILL broken. Probably won't be fixed till the very end of the Story. I just make no reference to it 'cause Wonka's doesn't use it anymore. I usually make reference to his working left hand. Not his broken right. Hope that clears some things up ;)

Erm... Scratch what I said earlier about "not a lot of info" I dunno what I was thinking…

**Chapter Nine Preview** – More newspapers and more letters. Why can't Charlie _or_ Willy Wonka get any peace for at least a couple of days? And Willy is finding more and more troubles of -not- having a working right arm. 

**To the Past Reviewers**: You are all too smart, or I wasn't being subtle enough. Most of you guessed right about it really being Charlie's nightmare. To all of you that got it right, I give you some Candy Floss.

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).

**!(#Q - **I'm not swearing, just getting your attention. I have recieved exactly 100 reviews at the time I added this Chapter onto on August 14, at 11:00 at night. I am so very happy. My parents are gonna be surprised. Just a couple of days ago it was only at 77. Hehehehe. I wiould thank you all personally, but, my fingers would die. So, I give you some Chocolate Instead.


	9. Ageless

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Wow, this has to be one of the longest chapters yet. So, I hope you enjoy. Also, I didn't write –all- of the letters. I'll give credit to who did what at the bottom of this fanfiction chapter. Oh! I'm seeing the movie –again- before it goes out of theaters here. I'm buying it for my brother and I, so it is a gift for him generally being awesome. I love him so much.

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers:** So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Nine Summery** – Wonka feels very guilty for shoving off Charlie. But, what if Charlie doesn't forgive him? Also, there are more newspapers to read… and a Tabloid? No, This _can't_ be good for Wonka.

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Ageless**

Nine o'clock the next morning and the snow had finally stopped being a torrent of swirling white, but a light and beautiful mist of powered snow falling gently from the sky. There was still a clean, untouched Four-Foot layer of snow lying on and around the massive Chocolate Factory. The air was an icy whip across their cheeks and stung with a cool bitterness. As beautiful the morning seemed to be, nobody, living in or near the small town by the factory, was outside doing their daily business, all to cold to try to venture outside.

Willy sat on his deep plum-red bed thinking idly to himself, recounting and semi-reliving the events of the past day in his head. So much had happened in one single day. He really didn't think it was possible that so much happened when so little time seemed to pass. First, they read the newspaper, met the new sheep, then he fell ill, and then he had a horrible nightmare. Then, they read some of those horrid letters. He argued with some Squirrels while Charlie went exploring, and Charlie found the Dreaming Room and ate one of his Dreaming Fantasies. Then, _Charlie _had a nightmare himself. After all of that, he had been very rude to Charlie and had promptly stomped off. Well, the day did start off _very _early that morning; was it Five o'clock?

His head started to spin with all the information. Or was it just his past fever? He placed his left hand on his head. No, he was over that. Must have been the information. He didn't know what to be more upset and confused about; his dream, or Charlie's. They were both so... similar. His, being himself not being able to reach a struggling Charlie getting shoved into a car. Charlie's, being Charlie getting dragged into a car, and seeing Willy Wonka getting attacked by some awful mean people. It seemed that they both worried about each other.

He sighed, and got up and off of his bed and walked, or rather, limped, towards his Living Room. He sat down on his Navy couch and looked towards his "Mail Chute". Letters. More of those gosh darned nasty letters there was even a package. He frowned at them for a moment. Should he really read them? Did he really want to see what nasty things these ones said? Well, there was this one nice letter from someone else. One. Maybe there were more.

He tried to take the large bundle with his right arm, but he remembered it was broken. Instead, he leaned over and took the bundle out of the chute with his left. He sighed; at least, he wouldn't have to read them alone. His eyes widened slightly, remembering the past night. He was so rude to Charlie then. Waving him off like he wasn't talking and ignoring his presence entirely. What if, what if Charlie wouldn't _want_ to help him anymore? He frowned, no, he couldn't, he shouldn't, think that way. Charlie would always help him. No matter how cranky he seemed sometimes.

He pocketed the letters in the pocket of his red coat. Well, he would have to go and see Charlie. Make it up to him. But, none of this nonsense with Charlie worrying about _him_. No, none of that. He definitely didn't want to have to storm away again, fall silent, or change the subject. It would just make Charlie more... worried. He grabbed the package and tucked it underneath his arm.

He got up again, sighing once more. He limped towards where he had his extra cane lent against the wall by the Elevator. You see, Wonka didn't get his cane back; he left in such a hurry the night before that he plain forgot his cane and even the fact that his ankle was twisted. The worst part was, it was starting to hurt like mad now because of the poor treatment, and Willy guessed that he would have to keep off of it for an extra couple of days. Sometimes he even believed that he did things no-so-smartly.

He walked into the Elevator and the door shut quickly. He stood there for several minutes, contemplating whether to dash back inside to his room, or go see Charlie. What if Charlie was mad? What if Charlie didn't want to help? Well, he knew standing there like an idiot wouldn't help anyone... mostly himself. But, Charlie... he _could_ be mad. What if... he was?

"Don't be silly," Willy suddenly said a loud to himself, "Charlie wouldn't stay mad at me _forever. _I'll apologize. Charlie'll forgive me!" He frowned, "If not, I'll... I'll read the letters by myself, and talk to Charlie later." A smile crept over his face. "Yeah! That's what I'll do!"

He smiled with a wide grin and clicked the "Chocolate Waterfall" button. And with a click and a roar, the Elevator whizzed off downwards in a mad fury as it descended towards Charlie's home. Bang. The Elevator shot wildly off to the left and Wonka stayed still, as if he was standing in a waiting room. It finally stopped, and the Great Glass Elevator opened up into the great Candy Meadow, that housed the first ever Chocolate Waterfall.

Charlie was already there, but his back was turned away from the Elevator. Wonka jerked, breathed in sharply and found himself instinctively ducking behind a large Candy Lollipop. He gazed over at Charlie, biting his lip, trying to see what he was doing.

Charlie was laying there, on his front, with a whole bunch of papers. He was humming to himself and was writing furiously. He seemed to have taken no notice of the Great Glass Elevator's sudden appearance behind him.

"Look's like Charlie is too busy, I'll just go," he whispered to himself, and he turned to leave, still squatted low to the ground.

Of course, being Willy Wonka, he completely forgot the Elevator was made of glass and the fact that the doors were always _shut_ when he had left it, not _open_. So... Wham! Wonka, his cane, the letters, and the package went sprawling onto the ground.

"Ow!" He grabbed his right arm for a moment, which complained with a sharp jolt. It is a well-known fact that fractured limps hate being slammed unsparingly against a clear, glass object. Or any object for that matter. "Fudged Fantasies! Dreaming Daises! Buzzing Snozzwagers! Whizzing Whangdoodles! Ow!"

Charlie looked up, and saw Wonka trying to get himself while muttering a large amount of nonsense words under his breath angerly. Charlie placed down whatever he was doing before, got up and dashed towards the distressed Chocolatier.

"Mr. Wonka, are you alright?" Charlie asked while placing a hand out for Willy to grab.

Wonka took it and levered himself up gratefully. "Thank you my dear Charlie. I am fine. It's just a well known fact that fractured arms don't like to get hit with out any forewarning," he said, straightening his hat and, rather un-expectantly, he gave a strange erratic laugh.

Charlie bent over and picked up the bundle of letters, and the package that was strewn on the sugar-grass lawn. He handed them over to Willy, who pocketed them quickly, and placed the package under his arm.

"Well Charlie, I suppose that you are busy, so... I'll be going," Wonka said, and he turned to leave.

"No!" Charlie said loudly, which stopped Wonka. "I, Er... wasn't doing much. Just finishing some work. It's done now!"

Wonka turned back around and grinned at Charlie, "I see. Kay."

"Umm," Charlie shifted on the spot. He had been worried all through the night and the morning, wondering if Willy was upset at him or not. Charlie glanced at Willy's face. He _seemed_ to have forgotten about the whole thing. Didn't look mad at all. But, there was this look of worry and fear set far back in the depths of Willy's deep purple eyes. "Er... would you like to have anything to eat?"

"Yes please," Willy said with a smile. "If you do not mind." Charlie didn't seem mad or upset to him. Well, that was a good sign. At least... he _thought _it was. "Er, what do you have in mind?" he asked, ending it with another short nervous laugh.

"Mum probably just finished baking a nice loaf of bread. I bet she'd let you have some," Charlie said. "I bet if we go now, it'll be there waiting for us!"

"Yeah! Great idea!" Willy said, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

With that said and done, and that strange awkward moment was finally over with, Charlie and Willy Wonka made their way happily towards the Bucket home. Both happy that the other wasn't mad at the other.

Charlie swung open the door. "Hi mum!" he called.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Bucket turned, and saw Willy poking his head in the doorway. "Oh! Mr. Wonka, come in! Won't you sit down? I have _just_ finished taking this new loaf of bread out of the oven."

"Hello Mrs. Bucket," Wonka said, pulling his hat off of his head. "Thank you. I'd love some."

Charlie walked across the room at to a table, pulled out Willy's seat, then went tearing away quickly up to the ladder of his former bedroom. "I'll be right back Mr. Wonka!" Charlie called as he clambered up the rungs.

"Kay!" Willy called back, and he turned to the hat rack and hung up his hat.

A couple seconds later Charlie came buzzing quickly down the ladder, and in fact jumped the last couple of rungs. In his hand was Wonka's original cane. The one he forgot the past night.

"Here Mr. Wonka," Charlie leaned it up against the wall near the door. "I'll leave it here for you. You forgot it last night."

"Heh, so I did," Willy sat down in the already pulled-out chair, and placed the package on the table. He grinned at Charlie, as he sat directly across from him. "Thank you Charlie, I'd loose my head if I didn't look in the mirror every morning."

Mrs. Bucket came up to them holding two plates with large slices of steaming new bread. She placed them in front of Wonka and Charlie along with a bowl with some butter and a knife.

"Here you are," she said. Turning to Charlie, she added, "your dad is going to be home soon, dear. Just went out to buy a couple of newspapers."

Willy shuddered. Newspapers; before, he would of thought of them as OK, but since yesterday. No. Ew no. He hated them. He realized that they would say mean things about people who didn't deserve it. His proof on the matter was that they were saying mean things about _him_ and _he_ didn't deserve it.

"Ew," he said under his breath.

Mrs. Bucket caught his words, and while giving some bread to the grandparents, she said, "Now Mr. Wonka, if you are to solve this problem, you need to know what people think of you. No matter how bad it seems to be. That is the only way to know how to approach this problem."

"She's right."

"She's right."

"She's right."

"This couch is lovely."

Wonka didn't say anything, but Charlie could swear he heard a small snorting noise. He snickered slightly at his grandmother's comment, then got started on his bread.

The both sat there for quite a while, silent, not saying anything to the other. Both looked quite concentrated on eating their bread. The grandparents were enjoying theirs as well and Mrs. Bucket sat in-between the table and the Grandparent's bed, eating her own piece.

The door swung open, and in came Mr. Bucket with large amounts of snow covering him from head to toe. Clumps stuck to his coat, and his hands were tucked neatly on the inside of it, trying to keep warm.

"Morning Buckets," he said happily as he shut the door behind him.

Mrs. Bucket stood up quickly, and took off his coat. "How's the weather out there, dear?"

"Horrible, it just started to snow more heavily. I swear, this isn't going to stop for another week." He turned to face Charlie and Willy, "Charlie, Mr. Wonka! How are you this morning?"

"Good, Dad," Charlie said with a grin. "Did you bring the newspapers?"

Mr. Bucket walked up to the table and plopped down a newspaper and a tabloid. "Mr. Wonka, you are now subject to the tabloids too. I thought you'd be interested in it."

Wonka gave another strange erratic laugh. "Thank you, Mr. Bucket." He slid the paper closer to himself, just looking at it. Nothing more.

"Well? Aren't you going to read it?"

"Oh, yes... that."

Wonka picked up the newspaper and saw that his picture was again at the front page, followed by a large article. It must have been a fairly recent picture, one of him leading the children into the factory. But, the children where cropped off, and only he appeared in the picture.

"Horrible picture of me. I daresay, I don't _really_ look like that from the back?"

"Mr. Wonka..."

"Right, right... Keep your trousers on," he flipped open the newspaper to reveal the whole article. And he read a loud:

_Wonka Hiding?_

_Wonka's factory showed no sign of responding to the last newspaper article that this newspaper had sent out. In fact, several of the newspaper readers had sent out letters to the famous Willy Wonka and none of them got a return note._

_"Willy has never responded to anyone's letters before," said a former worker, "not even family letters. He just doesn't have the time. He's not avoiding you, he just doing what he normal does. Remember, this is -one- factory doing the work of hundreds, of course he'd be busy!"_

_Though, a lot of people are not too sure that this is the case with the Famous Chocolatier._

_"He has a guilty conscious. He knows what he is doing is wrong, and he refuses to realize the truth. He knows that boy needs a better atmosphere other than a factory, and he is too self-centered to want to realize the fact. He thinks he's avoiding responsibility by avoiding us."_

_What is really Wonka up to? Has he disappeared again like he did fifteen years ago? Whatever happens, the case with the safety of the boy will be this newspaper's first priority._

Wonka placed the newspaper down and gave a scoff. "That was short and pointless," he said, and he slid the newspaper across the table, and away from himself. "The things that these people think of. I'm right here aren't I? I haven't gone anywhere."

"But, you give no _proof_ that you _are_ here, Mr. Wonka," Mr. Bucket said while sitting down beside Charlie, folding his fingers. "You have also done nothing to say you have any opinion on it at all."

Willy didn't respond and picked up the tabloid. It had a close-up picture of his face, and they seemed to put great emphasis on his teeth.

It read:

_Willy Wonka and Plastic Surgery? Pg. 13_

He sighed and turned the pages, reading aloud:

_Willy Wonka the great Chocolatier has astounded and amazed candy goers for nearly twenty years now. But, the only change in his appearance these last fifteen years is his hair length. In fact, nobody knows exactly when this profound celebrity was born, and when asked at the opening of his factory, he responded with a simple. "I don't know." _

_He doesn't know, or he doesn't want -us- to know. Many doctors and surgeons believe that most of his facial features have been reconstructed through plastic surgery. Dentists believe that his teeth are in fact false, for nearly nobody who eats chocolate as much as he does, can keep a set of pearly whites like that._

_Willy's face is indeed a mystery. Either behind a candy or behind a strange set of large sunglasses, Willy's former appearance is seen as a mystery. Wonka seems to be a man afraid of getting older, and he wishes to stay young and ageless as long as he can muster under the blade._

_But, for how long has he done this?_

Wonka thrust the paper down angerly. Charlie looked at Wonka with furrowed eyebrows. Even though it was just a tabloid, what they said was kind of true. Wonka didn't seem to have aged at all in the past twenty years. Was what they said true? Is it really all fake?

"No," Willy said, looking at the faces of the Buckets and Charlie. "It's not true. I hate doctors, I hate dentists, I hate... getting... cut. Ew. I'd _never_ do that. Disgusting. One of the worst things you can do to a person. Believe me, if I'd do that, I would have changed these," he pointed to his purple eyes, "a long time ago. With one of those contact thing-a-ma-jiggers."

Charlie shook himself, what was he thinking? Willy hated to go to the doctor for even a checkup. Why would Wonka want to get surgery? He suddenly felt guilty for believing the tabloid for even a second. How could he do that to Wonka?

"Sorry," his voice sounding as sorry as he felt, "I didn't mean-"

"It's OK. It's what these things are supposed to do," he jabbed his finger accusingly at the tabloid. "All they do is splatter out useless _untrue_ facts about people. Anything to get people to read this useless slop."

Mrs. Bucket finally sat down at the table herself, and leaned closer to Willy. "But Mr. Wonka," she said, "How old _are_ you? What they say about you not knowing can't be true."

"I don't know."

"_Seriously?_"

"Yea, I really don't remember. You see, I haven't celebrated my birthday since I was around Charlie's age. So, I could be _anything_."

"Okay... do you know what year you were born? Your birthday?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know."

"You _can't_ have forgotten your own birthday!"

"I did, and I have. The only person who knows when it is, is my Fa..." his face screwed up to one of agony and he stopped talking.

The Buckets exchanged looks. "Your Father?" Mr. Bucket asked.

Willy just nodded numbly, and looked down at the table. He looked up and placed on a large fake grin. "Yeah... him." He face fell again.

The Buckets didn't say anything at all. They didn't know what to say at all. Mrs. Bucket broke the silence, by pointing at the bundles of letters that poked out of Wonka's pocket.

"Are those the letters? If they are, you'd better read them."

Wonka nodded, and pulled the bundle out and set it on the table. He took in a breath. Did he really want to read them? _I have to. Otherwise, I won't know what people think. I won't know how to solve this icky problem._

He pulled of the top envelope, which was crudely stuck together, and had a tight un-neat scrawl with the address and return address on it. He looked up at the Buckets and Charlie, who were watching intently, and he gave a short nervous laugh.

He peeled off the envelope, and opened up a letter, that had the same, untidy tight scrawl. He read it aloud:

_Hey Wonka,_

_You're nasty! Freaking utterly absolutely gross! How can you keep a little boy in your factory like that? I hope they take him away and send him back to his family where he belongs, not with a jerk like you._

_PS: I hate your candies. Go Slugworth!_

_-Tom Grakev_

Willy and the Buckets cringed. He placed the letter down quickly. He gave another short nervous laugh. "Well... -heh- he didn't seem so... -erm- happy."

"Read another one Mr. Wonka. I bet there is a really nice one for you in there," Charlie said with encouragement, handing him another envelope. "Just ignore him."

"Yeah..."

He took it, and opened it up quickly. It looked as though this one was printed off. Wonka turned the paper round and round, and even looked at it upside down. He couldn't understand what it was trying to say. He handed it over to Charlie, who shook his head. Obviously, he didn't know either. So, they left the letter unnoticed by the edge of the table.

But, incase you are wondering, it read:

_D34R W1LLY W0NK4,_

_1 H4V3 L00K3D 47 7H3 N35P4P3R5 4ND 1 F0UND 7H47 7H3Y 4R3 4LL C0MPL373 1D1075. 3V3RY 51NGL3 0N3 0F 7H3M. 1 B3L1V3 1N Y0U 4ND L177L3 CH4RL13 8UCK37. JU57 K33P 0N 7RUCKK1N' 4ND M4K1NG CH0C0L4735. D0N'7 L37 7H3 N35P4P3R'S D15C0UR4G3 Y0U, G37 4 L4UGH 0U7 0F 7H3M! WH3N Y0U G37 4 CH4NC3, 7RY 4ND 73LL P30PL3 7H3 7RU7H._

_FR0M, 7H3 L337 M4573R 0F CH0C0L473._

_P.5. Y0U R0CK. D0WN W17H PR0DN053, 5LUGW0R7H 4ND F1CKL3GRUB3R!_

Willy grabbed another one. The envelope had beautiful unicorns and Pegasus' on it. Willy smiled; he had a good feeling about this letter. But, you never know, you can't judge a book by its cover. He peeled the envelope open slowly, and pulled out a paper that had unicorn stationary on it. He grinned. It was looking more promising than he thought. Unfolding the letter, he read the purple-written letter.

_Dear Mr. Wonka,_

_Hello, my name is Alice, and I love your chocolate and candy! I can't imagine living a world without the wonderful Willy Wonka!_

_My mother has been telling me about the stories in the newspapers. The reporters are worried that your factory is not safe and think that the contest winner, Charlie Bucket, should not live there. I don't think those people are being fair to you. Yesterday, the doctor who treated you was on TV. He said that your arm was only fractured and that your ankle was only sprained. The doctor also said that you were like a big kid and that you asked for a lollypop when your treatment was over. That made me laugh!_

_People shouldn't believe everything that they read or hear. They shouldn't make up their minds until they know the whole story. I hope you can make them listen to the truth. Please say, "Hello!" to Charlie, for me. I think he is the luckiest little kid in the whole world (and he's cute too!). Me and my mom are going to buy extra chocolate and candy until your problems are over, O.K.? We believe in you!_

_P.S. I am enclosing a drawing of you and Charlie._

He sighed out of relief and happiness. That letter wasn't so bad. In fact it was...

"Wonderful," Charlie said, "That letter was wonderful. See, Mr. Wonka? People support you. Let's look at the picture."

Willy looked in the envelope, and saw, that there was in fact, another piece of paper. He pulled it out and un-folded it.

The picture itself was very well drawn. It looked as though the girl had used a photo for reference, for all the colours were very accurate. The overall drawing was very nice. It showed Willy and Charlie standing in a wonderful grass field with tons of Chocolate Bars stacked around them. They both had huge grins on their faces, and Charlie was holding a golden ticket.

Willy chuckled and handed the picture over to Charlie, who grinned.

"I think it looks a lot like you Mr. Wonka," Charlie said while handing it to his mother.

"Heh. So it does!" Willy grinned happily. "Well, that wasn't _so_ bad." Maybe he could do this.

Willy Wonka merrily picked up another letter. The Envelope was pure white, and had a lovely little rose sticker at the corner of it. The writing was neat and very easy to read. He turned the envelope over and opened it up rather happily. Hoping that the next one would be as great as the last.

He read it out loud like all the others:

_Dear Willy,_

_It's been so long since I've contacted you. I read in the newspaper that you got hurt. I know that you would never do such a thing. Please do be careful though. Your father will be livid if he finds out that you were injured. And be careful with that little boy as well. I sent over a sweater, I do hope it fits you._

_I don't suppose you remember me, but I do remember giving candy to a little ghost on Halloween nights every year! Good luck, Willy. Don't let those reporters (and nasty letters) get you down._

_- Mrs. Harvey_

Wonka looked at the letter with widened eyes. _Mrs. Harvey? She was still... alive? Wow..._ He stared at it for several moments with extreme happiness.

It was Mrs. Harvey who gave him the first ever piece of chocolate. He was sure that it was that exact piece that lay close to the fireplace, untouched by flame. He grinned in spite of himself. Mrs. Harvey was one of the nicest, kindest, people he knew. She never got mad, and she never, never told his father when he had some chocolate chip cookies and milk over at her house.

And here she was, after all those years. She was still thinking of him. Still worried for him. Still being... Mrs. Harvey.

Charlie glanced over at Willy's thoughtful face and smiled. _It must be a -good- memory. Whoever Mrs. Harvey is, she must have been really nice to Mr. Wonka._

"Mrs. Harvey?" Mrs. Bucket suddenly said. "Is she that sweet old dear who gave Charlie his first ever Chocolate bar?" She looked at Mr. Bucket with wonder. "For his fifth birthday if I recall."

Mr. Bucket thought, "It must be." He took the letter from Willy and examined it; "I'd recognize her writing anywhere. It _is_."

"_Weird._"

"_She_ was _that_ Mrs. Harvey? She_ knew _Mr. Wonka, when he was _my _age?"

"I suppose she did. Wonderful woman."

Willy grinned, "I liked her a lot. Let's see what kind of sweater she made me."

He pulled over the package, which he now knew that it contained one of Mrs. Harvey's great, warm, sweaters. He opened it quickly, and pulled out a lovely plum-red sweater. He frowned; there was only _one_ problem. It was _much_ too small. For him anyway.

"I suppose that Mrs. Harvey forgot that I'm not eleven anymore," he said, then he grinned wildly and laughed. He handed the sweater over to Charlie. "Here, you're eleven right? Even if you're not, it'll fit you all the same."

"But Mr. Wonka-"

"_I_ can't wear it, now can I? It's much too small, you see."

Charlie grinned, stayed silent, and folded up the sweater, setting it on the table.

There were only two letters left. But, they seemed different. Very different. Both looked so formal and becoming. Willy picked the top one up first, forgetting about Mrs. Harvey and the sweater. The envelope had its address and return address printed on it rather than being written on.

"I wonder who that is," Mrs. Bucket asked, looking at the formal letter.

"I don't know, but it looks important."

Wonka grinned nervously, not sure whether to open it or not.

"Come on, Mr. Wonka. Open it up. I want to see!"

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – This was really easy for me to write. The only reason why it took so long is because I had someone read it over Wolfgurl89. This was interesting for me to right, I had to touch on many different things. And yes, Wonka finally hits the elevator. Whether I already did it in the fiction, I forgot. But, it's still funny, no? There is one things else. I am proud of my title. I have -no- idea why. It's just a title. I like the sound of it... "ageless", hehe... sounds serious.

**Wonkaland Info** –. Not a lot.

The letters? Were –not- all done by me. Nope. I asked people if they could write letters to Willy. So they did. Here are who wrote what:  
Letter #1 - Hellsfirescythe  
Letter #2 – Me  
Letter #3 – IDOL HANDS  
Letter #4 - Hellsfirescythe

Wonka's arm: Yes… it is –still- broken. Lol. It has only been a couple of days. Some people have been wondering if it was broken or not because I make no reference to it usually. Yes, it is still broken, I just made no reference to it.

**Chapter Ten Preview** – What is this mysterious letter? Hmn… There seems to be two of them.

**To the Past Reviewers**: Merci pour vous reviews!

**To My Beta-er: **Dear Wolfgurl…. ….

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-tackle glomp- I LUFF YOU. Merci, merci!

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**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	10. Chocolate Coated

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Wow! I am SO sorry for the delay! I have good reasons! I assure you I do! First, I have to get ready to move, second, I have to go to school soon, third, it was my birthday. Since I have -never- (that's right folks) NEVER read the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" book, my step-mum and dad gave me the book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator." I'm going to my Mum's soon, and I just –might- be getting more Willy Wonka stuff from her!-randomly glomps- I also got a gift certificate for 30$ , so I'm gonna wait till the stores around here carry the Soundtrack so I can buy it.

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Ten Summery** – Willy Wonka finally opens up the two letters and finds out what the world really wants to do with him. And… hmm… more and more wrong just seems to be happening! Can Willy Wonka handle it? Will this been his final straw.

* * *

**Chapter 10 – Chocolate Coated**

Willy turned the formal letter over in his hand and, with some hesitation, opened it up. This letter was typed, much like the strange unreadable letter, on fancy watermarked paper. Wonka tipped the envelope over and a shiny business card fell out of it.

"What's this?" he said, setting down the letter and picking up the business card.

He turned it over a couple of times before reading it:

_Belinda Waters_

_Daily American Broadcasting System _

_Phone (838) 1-600 9927_

_New York City, New York_

_VBN 679_

"Daily American Broadcasting System?" he said aloud. "Interesting. What would they want?"

Mrs. Bucket picked up the letter that Willy Wonka had conveniently left on the table and handed it back to him. "Read this," she said. "It could do some explaining."

He grinned and took it from her, and read it aloud like all the other letters:

_Dear Sir,_

_I am contacting you on behalf of "AMERICA TODAY", the evening news program that's "Dedicated to getting the WHOLE story to Americans". Our Head Anchor, Belinda Waters, would like to interview you and the Bucket family. It's a real opportunity to tell the public your side of the story, regarding allegations of unsafe working conditions at your factory._

_If you are interested please contact us using the information on the enclosed business card. While you certainly do not have to agree to an interview, please be aware that people who won a tour of your factory have already agreed to be seen on our program._

_Thank you for your consideration. We hope to hear from you shortly._

_Yours truly,_

_The good people at the Daily American Broadcasting System (D.A.B.S.)_

_c.c. : Belinda Waters_

"That's _wonderful_ Mr. Wonka! Now you have a chance to tell everyone, or at least the Americans, what is going on. I'm sure that they'll play in it other countries like Canada and England," Mrs. Bucket said with excitement

Willy frowned. "No. It's _not_ wonderful. In fact, it's _worse _than just not-wonderful. It's horrible, that's what it is. Absolutely horrible."

Charlie, his mother, and his father looked at Willy with extreme confusion. Why did Wonka seem so upset over the idea of getting interviewed?

"But why?"

Willy placed down the letter. "Surly I don't have to explain, do I?" He reached over, and grabbed his plate of half-eaten bread. Before taking another piece, he said, "Surely you already know." He ripped off tiny square of bread and placed it in his mouth, reading the letter again.

Charlie then remembered the incident at the Doctor's office. _Now _he understood. Wonka hadn't had multiple-human contact in over fifteen years. In fact, he doubted whether Willy had much multiple-human contact for any great lengths of time _before_ the fifteen year "no-contact". At the doctor's office, he fainted when over a dozen or so people where looking at him. But, this would be broadcasted over the Television. To where there are _millions_ of people watching. _Millions_ of people listening.

"I know it's a lot of people Mr. Wonka, but you need to do this," Mr. Bucket finally said, breaking the silence. "If not for you, then for Charlie."

Wonka looked up from reading his paper. His expression was odd, and he seemed to look younger. As if the twenty-year-younger Wonka appeared to be peeking through. He looked downwards suddenly, and the whites of his eyes could be seen as he thought intently. The Buckets and Charlie couldn't tell whether he was thinking, whether he was concerned, or if it was a combination of both.

Millions. _Millions_. That was a lot of people. That was a _million_ people! _"For Charlie,"_ ran through Willy's head for a couple moments as he thought. Wasn't all this trouble for Charlie? Wasn't all of this... for Charlie? Would, he, Willy Wonka, give up, because of his fear? Lose a chance to save Charlie?

_But it is so many people. _ No, he couldn't think like that. He had to remember it was for Charlie. _All those eyes- _Charlie. Remember, Charlie. -_All watching. All... accusing. _His head swam. What was he to do? The matter was conflicting with his moral and mental mind! His mental didn't want to go; too afraid of all those people. His moral wanted to do it for Charlie, in spite of the fact that he was terrified of small groups of people, let alone large groups of them. _What should I do?_

_What would I have done? Before all of this? Before I closed down my factory? _His eyebrows furrowed deeper, _I would have done it anyway. No, I -will- do it anyway. If not for me... then for Charlie. Anything for my little brother. But... I'm too scared..._

Willy looked up and grinned, "I... I'll think about it." His smile faded slightly as he said, in yet a lower voice, "I just don't know yet."

Wonka turned his attention away from the conversation and towards the last letter; doing anything he could to change the subject.

It was much like the last letter; in fact, it looked exactly like the last one, except the return address was different. He sighed deeply and opened up the envelope. Wonka grabbed the last sheet of paper and began to read it out loud:

_Dear Mr. Willy Wonka_

_We are contacting you on the behalf of the famous late night television show, FRIDAY EVENING LIVE. Our host, William Karleson, would like to do an interview of you on TV concerning the past problems concerning your factory. FRIDAY EVENING LIVE is a great television show to let out -your- message to our viewers in the United States and Canada._

Willy stopped reading for a moment and scoffed, "This sounds familiar..."

Mrs. Bucket grinned for a moment. "Yes it does, and it sounds like good news as well. Now, finish reading it."

_We would also like to ask that the contest winner, Charlie Bucket, could also come for the interview, as he is involved with this just as much as you are._

_If you are interested, just send another letter to the return address of this letter. We do hope that you consider this offer, and take this chance to tell the world your thoughts and opinions._

_From the FRIDAY EVENING LIVE in New York._

Willy threw the second letter down and sighed deeply with annoyance. It seemed that everybody wanted to get a piece of him; everyone wanted to talk to him. But did he want to do it? He had two good chances staring him in the face, but was he too scared to take them? Wonka sighed again and glanced down at the letters bitterly, wondering whether he should accept them or not.

"I'm going," Charlie suddenly said.

"What?"

"Both of those letters said that they wanted me to be along as well. If you won't go, I'll have to go. Mr. Wonka, this is a really good chance for us to tell lots of people our side of the story. So, I'm going."

Willy turned to Charlie, looking nervous and confused. "You're going? Alone?" The look he was giving Charlie was the one he gave when Charlie first refused to live in his factory. That look of utter shock and confusion, trying to figure out why it was happening.

Charlie nodded. "Only if you're not."

Charlie _wouldn't_ go alone. Would he? No, New York was much too dangerous for a boy like Charlie. He could get lost and... More lost. It was _much_ too unsafe. Someone would have to go with him. _Someone..._

"What about your Mum and Dad?" Wonka asked, turning to Mr. and Mrs. Bucket hopefully, and with a rather large expecting grin.

But much to the disappointment of Willy, Mr. and Mrs. Bucket shook their heads. "No, we would not be able to go. The grandparents need to stay here, and both of us need to take care of them."

Wonka continued to grin fakely; great, they wouldn't be going. That might just mean that _he'd_ have to go. "Oh. I see," Willy said.

Then it hit him. He grinned again. "Well, how about your grandfather Charlie?" Wonka turned to face Charlie. "He could go with you. He came to the factory right?"

"I don't think he could handle the trip Mr. Wonka. The trip to the factory was risking it a bit. I think that he should just stay here."

Wonka sighed, frowned, placing his left hand on his temple in a thinking motion. Why? Why? This wasn't fair. He _didn't_ want to go, but Charlie _did. _But, if he _didn't_ go, Charlie _would_. So, Charlie would naturally be all alone in New York, and Willy was smart enough to know that New York was _much_ more unsafe than his factory. He couldn't allow it.

Wonka sighed deeply, and smacked his hand on the table in frustration. "_Fine_. I'll go. Only because Charlie is going, and he can't go alone."

Charlie grinned widely, "Thanks, Mr. Wonka."

Wonka averted his eyes and mumbled under his breath, "Don't sound so happy." He sighed again with annoyance, and shoved another piece of bread in his mouth, still looking away from Charlie.

---------------------------

Willy and Charlie were walking down one of the halls of the massive factory. Of course, like any other day, there were many things to do, and much to tend to in the enormous factory. It seemed that this day was one of the slow days in the factory; not much new was happening or not-happening. Only a few things were wrong here and there, and only a few things needed to be seen and done.

Wonka stopped in front of a large circular door. It looked like all the other doors, except it seemed to not have a name. Willy pulled out a large silver key and jammed it into the lock, and the door opened silently.

In front of them was a large room. Oompa-Loompas were dashing around this way and that, laying out rolls of Swudge grass, and others seemed to be, strangely enough, breaking a hole in the wall. Charlie started to take things like this as normal, for very odd things happened in the factory, and if he were to be shocked at every strange thing that happened, he would get very tired out and have not nearly enough energy to experience the other things.

"This room," Willy said as he walked through the doorway, "was the testing room for one of my favorite inventions."

Charlie followed Wonka inside, gazing at the strange actions of the Oompa-Loompas. "What kind of candies, Mr. Wonka?"

Willy grinned as he shut the door behind Charlie. "My famous 'Square Candies that look Round'. I am quite proud of them."

"Oh, those. They are really neat," Charlie said. "But, why are we in here?"

Willy looked down towards Charlie and said with a grin. "Because, this room is going to be opened with the next. To make a large field you see. We need to test those kites, Charlie." Wonka straightened back up, "I just need to check that the renovations are going smoothly."

Charlie looked at the construction. He realized that when Wonka wanted to test things, he made sure that things were tested _properly_. Such as, if they were to make little Strawberry kites, they would have to test it in a real field. Not some strange air chamber, because that was _most_ un-real. Children wouldn't be flying them in an air chamber.

Wonka walked over to one of the Oompa-Loompa's that was unrolling the Swuge Grass, knelt down, and started to talk with his left hand in Loompaish using some very strange symbols, gestures and noises. They "talked" for a couple of minutes, ending it with a simple gesture, then Wonka straightened up, turning to Charlie with a large toothy grin.

"Good. Looks like everything is in order."

Charlie approached Willy, "Mr. Wonka, are we _really _going to make the Little Strawberry Kites?"

"Huh?" Wonka turned around and faced Charlie. "Oh! Of course we are, it was a brilliant idea after all. Boy, was it a good idea, Charlie!"

"Thank you Mr. Wonka, I'm just surprised that you are going to use it," Charlie said with a grin, looking upwards at Willy. "I didn't think it was nearly as good as your other candy ideas."

Wonka looked confused for a moment. "Why wouldn't I use it? It is just as good of an idea as my 'Square Candies that Look Round' and my 'Everlasting Gobstoppers'."

Charlie looked down at the floor. "It's not _that_ great... it's only my first invention," Charlie said quietly, embarrassed because he was being complimented so readily by Willy. "I mean... you've been doing it for _years_ Mr. Wonka."

"My dear Charlie, years have nothing to do with candy making. It has to do with this," Willy said as he tapped Charlie's head. "That's all. As long as you keep a wide imagination, you can do anything."

"Now," Wonka began again, turning around to face the door. "Let's continue. We have much to do."

Charlie just nodded and followed Wonka out of the new "Strawberry Kite" room. They turned a corner and walked down a large very blue hall. Willy seemed to be humming, not really thinking about anything at all. In his left hand, he was twirling the key ring around his fingers and using his cane at the same time with the same hand. How he seemed to be managing both things at once confused Charlie.

He realized that since Wonka had agreed to go with him to New York and to the interviews, Willy had done nothing and said nothing about them. He didn't even sit down and write a response letter to either of them. He feared that Wonka thought that totally ignoring to respond to the letters would make the problem go away.

That would make that "problem" go away, but it wouldn't help their current problem with the press and the public. In fact, he was sure that if they did not go, it would worsen the situation. People would think he was trying to _avoid_ the problem. Well... he was. But doing that wouldn't help their own problem one bit; it would only make people more and more against Willy Wonka and his glorious factory.

Charlie sped up so that he was walking along side Willy. He looked up and said, "Mr. Wonka, are you going to write the return letters yet?"

Wonka turned to face Charlie, still walking. "What letters?"

"You know, the interview ones."

Willy seemed to be walking faster, for Charlie was starting to take larger strides and was having trouble to trying to keep up with Willy Wonka.

"Oh. Those..." Wonka didn't look back at Charlie, but continued to look towards where he was going.

"You know, they don't know you are going unless you send them a return letter."

"Well, they seem rather inefficient. If I were them, I would know if I wanted to go or not," replied Wonka, still looking forward.

Charlie laughed. "It doesn't really work that way, Mr. Wonka."

"I don't see what's funny," Wonka said, sounding rather childishly hurt and annoyed at the same time.

Charlie sighed. "I still think you should send the letters."

Charlie was now doing a mid-jog, trying to at least just stay along side of Wonka, but was still trailing behind. Willy seemed to going very fast, with the appearance of walking. This told Charlie that Willy Wonka was getting annoyed with the whole situation, and didn't wish to talk about it any longer than he had to. Which of course meant that talking about it in general was more than he needed to talk about it.

"Fine," Wonka sounded unusually mad and annoyed. "I'll send the return letters..."

Willy stopped abruptly, and Charlie rammed into the back of him, obviously not expecting his companion to stop. Wonka tensed and breathed in sharply, not really appreciating the sudden and rather harsh, contact with Charlie.

"Sorry Mr. Wonka."

Charlie looked over to see why Wonka had stopped; a whole group of Oompa-Loompas was dashing towards them. One of them in particular was waving a sheet of paper above its head wildly.

Gracious for the interruption of the past conversation, Willy exclaimed happily, "Oh! What is it?" Wonka took the paper from the Oompa-Loompa, reading it over thoroughly.

Charlie waited for several moments as Willy read, watching as Wonka's face turned from one of relief to concern.

Willy frowned in disappointment as he said, in a much different tone, "Oh my... oh dear. Again?"

The Oompa-Loompa nodded and tugged on the fabric of Willy's pants, urging for him to come along.

"Sorry. I have to go, Charlie. Something very important has arisen," Wonka said rather hurriedly. He started to walk quickly towards the Elevator across the hall with the tugging Oompa-Loompa.

"Mr. Wonka, what's wrong?" Charlie said, catching up with Willy.

"It seems that one of my Chocolate Intake pipes have plugged, and that specific pipe happens to go where I make my favorite chocolate: my Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight bars! Today is the day when the order is to be filled, oh, we cannot have delay!"

Charlie continued to dash. "Can I come and help too?"

"Of course you can come. But I don't know if you can help," Wonka said while focusing towards the elevator.

Wonka and Charlie made it to the Elevator in only a couple of minutes and they entered the elevator quickly and rather silently. Charlie looked over at Willy as Wonka pressed the button "Chocolate Waterfall" and saw how Wonka seemed genuinely concerned. Charlie started to worry as he turned his gaze away from Wonka; so much had happened. So many bad things. Why?

First, he had been clumsy and Willy had broken his arm and twisted his leg because of him. Second, Willy Wonka had to face horrible people staring at him at the doctor's office and fainted in the process. That too Charlie felt was his fault. Third, Wonka had read a nasty newspaper that said that Charlie would have to leave the Factory forever. And as if it couldn't get any worse, Wonka received so much hate mail. Now, one of the Chocolate Tanks had broken down. He was sure that this was all too much in too little time for the Great Chocolatier.

The Great Glass Elevator jolted to a stop and the door opened harshly, revealing the great Candy Meadow and Chocolate Waterfall. Willy left the Elevator as soon as the doors were partially open. So quickly, that it took Charlie several seconds to realize that Wonka had left the vicinity of the Elevator entirely.

Charlie gazed across the field and towards the quick-paced figure of Wonka semi-limping, semi-dashing across the field. He looked ahead of Willy and saw one of the Chocolate-Intake pipes being drawn out of the Chocolate.

Charlie looked back at Wonka and started to follow him, leaving the Elevator himself. From the view that Charlie had of Wonka, Willy looked rather distressed and disappointed.

That was very, very true. Willy was very distressed and disappointed. The past three days had had one thing after another pile onto his shoulders. Now, there was something wrong with the factory itself. What else could get wrong? He supposed that nothing else could wrong. If it did, well... he would have to deal with that later.

The Oompa-Loompa stopped him and pointed upwards. Ah, the problem. There was the Whipple-Scrumptious intake pipe. The Oompa-Looma's had pulled it out of the Chocolate River and lifted it above the grass for closer inspection. The pipe was half drawn out, and was hanging uselessly. The tank was filled with hundreds of gallons, thought it looked only half way full.

Charlie finally caught up with Willy and looked upwards at the pipe and tank. "Is that the problem, Mr. Wonka?"

"Yup. Sure is," Wonka said, still looking up, shading his eyes with a gloved hand from the bright lights above. "I wonder why it has stuck. It's just messin' with my noggin on why." His words were childish, but his voice was annoyed and almost serious.

Charlie looked down towards Willy and said, "What if there is a piece of un-melted chocolate in the pipe? That could be blocking it up."

"You know what? That is a very good guess. I bet that is what really happened," Wonka said, still gazing upwards, then he walked over so he was directly underneath the in-take pipe.

He stood there for several moments with furrowed eyebrows before exclaiming, "You know what? You are right! I can see it!"

Charlie stayed where he was. "Really, Mr. Wonka? How will we get it out?"

"Good question. I wonder..." Willy then added, to the Oompa-Loompa's, "Lower it about ten feet, kay? I need a better look."

The Tank lowered ten feet quickly with a loud mechanical grinding noise. The end of the pipe was resting away from Willy's head by about only a couple of feet. Willy looked through the pipe up at the obstruction, which was now twenty feet away, trying to figure out how to remove the little chocolately problem.

"Hmn. Now what can I do to remove the little booger?"

Charlie, the Oompa-Loompa's or Willy Wonka never expected what was going to happen next. A low groaning noise emitted from the Chocolate Tank, followed by a loud cracking noise. Both of these noises were not happily greeted by Wonka.

Almost right after the noise, Wonka watched the thin chocolate obstruction crack and break away. He had no time to move, no time to get away. Hundreds of gallons of hot, melted chocolate poured all over of Willy Wonka, covering him from head to foot.

Charlie could only watch as his idol was starting to become one of his own creations. Charlie couldn't think of anything to do. All he could do was worry about what would happen _after _the chocolate stopped pouring all over Willy.

A few seconds later, the last spouts of Chocolate finally stopped falling, and when they did, Charlie was immediately at the distressed Chocolatier's side. Willy wasn't hurt; in fact, he was perfectly fine. Except he was soaked to the bone with chocolate; hot, gooey chocolate.

Charlie knew that Willy wasn't hurt. But what he thought was hurt was Willy's pride. So many things had happened, and now this? He expected Wonka to smash into a millions pieces.

"Mr. Wonka, are you alright?"

Wonka said nothing; he just looked downwards at his now Chocolate covered self, saying absolutely nothing. Charlie couldn't tell whether Willy was going to have a nervous break down or if Wonka was just going to fall apart in front of him, and Willy being deathly silent didn't help Charlie's thoughts one single bit. Wonka pulled his glove into a tight fist, and Charlie could see his jaw grind.

Charlie knelt down beside Wonka, not caring that his navy pants were getting soaked in chocolate. He placed a hand on Willy's left shoulder and repeated, "Mr. Wonka, are you alright?"

A strange noise emitted from Willy and, rather suddenly, Wonka burst out laughing. He fell onto his back and held one of his sides with his left hand, laughing. It wasn't insane laughter either; it wasn't as if he broke. His laugher rang out in the halls of mirth and amusement. Charlie sat there, rather confused of what to do. Here he expected to see a Wonka that had the final straw, but here he was, rolling on the ground, covered in chocolate, laughing like the world didn't matter.

Charlie started to grin. Right now, the world _didn't _matter. He started to chuckle lightly as Wonka continued to laugh. Though the Oompa-Loompa's didn't join in the laughter, they all wore expressions of happiness and relief, grinning happily at the laughing Chocolatier. Happy that he finally laughed a true, honest-to-goodness laugh. Happy that for one single moment, the world weighed nothing atop Willy's shoulders.

The scene would have looked very interesting and strange if you were a passerby just walking past. Willy was dripping chocolate, brown from head to foot, and nothing was left uncovered. The only things that were not covered in Chocolate were the glint of his teeth as he laughed, and the twinkle of his deep purple eyes.

Slowly, and after a few minutes, Willy started to calm down and his laughter turned to short bursts of strange breathing. He giggled and he turned on his side, facing Charlie. "S-sorry Ch-Charlie..." He held his chocolate-coated glove over his mouth as another round of giggles shot through him. "I-I don't know wh-what got over me... It was just so... so funny."

Charlie grinned, but said nothing as Willy continued. "D-did you see that Charlie?" He pointed up at the pipe, "I-I was asking for it. St-standing underneath it l-like that. I-I was s-so stupid! I-it cracked and spilled all over me!" He rolled over onto his back and gazed up at the tank. "Sometimes... I crack myself up."

Charlie stood up and held a hand out for Willy. Wonka grinned, still chuckling, and took Charlie's hand with his own chocolately one.

Whatever the rest of the day was going to throw at them, whether it was trudging through writing horrible return letters, or dealing with more nasty newspapers, Charlie knew that somehow, the day would work out fine. No matter what. As long as he was there with him... and as long as they never forgot the Chocolatey Cliché Catastrophe. As long as they knew it would work out in the end.

Willy was still giggling as Charlie helped him walk towards the Bucket home; Charlie was grinning in such a way that Wonka would be proud.

Just so happy to hear him laugh.

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**Authors Thoughts** – This Chapter took a long time to type, not only because of all of the stuff I needed to do, because I had to plan the next couple of Chapters so I could continue writing the Chapter. My favorite part was when Wonka was laughing because he was covered in Chocolate. I mean, during his giggling scene I was giggling myself. I had to stop writing so I didn't laugh out loud.

**Wonkaland Info** –.

Swudge Grass – Yup. I will no-longer call it Sugar Grass. Since I READ the book already, he calls it Swudge. So, I shall call it Swudge.

Whipple-Scrumtious Fudgemallow Delight – I thought that It would be Willy's favorite chocolate. Why else would he put Plum-Red on the package, and put the Golden ticket in it?

Business Card – By Me

Letter # 1 – IDOL HANDS

Letter # 2 – Me

Lilly and Sunny?- don't worry… They'll appear again!

Business Card - DON'T phone that number, I randomized it. Same with the zip. Please, I don't want you to pester poor innocent people. Nah. I just kidding. I don't think those exist!

**Chapter Eleven Preview** – Now for the return letters, something Willy really hates to do… And a bath. I really nice, long bath. And they need to Prepare to go to New York!

**To the Past Reviewers**: Thankyou so very much! I can't to hear more from you! I really like it when you guys tell me your favorite parts! It tells me when I'm doing something right!

Quill In Hand – THANKYOU so much! (she is also Wolfgurl…) I really love you! gives you mountains of Lily and Sunny's Sugar Wool) 

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	11. Under Pressure

((**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hello all! I am so very sorry that I was gone for so long. I had to move, and that sorta impedes my internet abilitys. I updated this at my Mom's house. I had to move. Oh! I bought the soundtrack at our mall. I have listened to it way to many times already. My Favorite track is 06 - Main Titles. I used the soundtrack to write this Chapter in particular. I am so very sorry for the huge delay, but, before the internet was up, I had the compter, So, I alreadybegan the 12th Chapter.

**Warning: This Fanfiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: So, if you don't like them, watch the movie, then come back.

**Chapter Eleven Summery** – Charlie thinkshat everything is just fine and dandy with Willy Wonka. But, after seeing where all Chocolate comes from, he seriousally doubts the fact.

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**Chapter 11 – Under Pressure**

Charlie sat on the navy blue couch in Willy Wonka's living room, writing rather diligently with a pen in a red notebook. Charlie was no longer wearing his blue striped shirt and Navy pants; only a half an hour before, he had been kneeling in mud-consistency Chocolate and his pants and shirt became rather filthy as he helped Willy out of the Chocolate and to Wonka's home. Charlie was now wearing deep crimson pants, and a nice cherry red, and crimson striped shirt.

Wonka was not with Charlie at that moment. In fact, he was in the shower, washing all of the chocolate out of his hair and any that managed to seep through his clothes. He had been in there for around half an hour, scrubbing and washing, trying desperately to get the hardened chocolate off of his body and out of his hair.

Finally, after a half an hour, the door to the living room opened, and Willy came out wearing completely different clothing than from before hand. Since his favorite top hat had also been chocolate-coated, he was wearing his old red and black coloured one that he had had twenty years before; he would be wearing that one until at least his favorite was clean. On his hands were tight fire-engine-red leather gloves, rather than rubber, and he was wearing a nice coat that alternated between Navy and Black stripes running down the fabric.

Charlie grinned and stopped writing in his notebook, glad to see that Wonka himself was smiling, and chocolate free. Something was odd about his smile, and it looked as if Wonka was, behind his grin, was somehow worrying. But, Wonka always seemed to have that look about him, so Charlie shrugged it off, placing his notebook down on the navy coffee table.

"Feel better, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked.

Willy grinned back. "Much better. I'm glad I got all of that Chocolate out of my hair." He took off his hat, flattened his hair and placed the hat back on, straightening it out while looking in a mirror. "As much as I like Chocolate, I don't really like it in my hair.

Willy turned around and looked at Charlie with a large grin. He walked over to the Navy Couch and sat on it, directly beside Charlie. He bent over and looked at the folded Notebook and pen.

"What'cha writing?" Wonka asked with inquiring raised eyebrows.

"Some candy ideas, but don't look at it yet!" Charlie quickly stated when Wonka was leaning over to pick it up.

Willy stopped trying to pick up the notebook, and gave Charlie a look of curiosity, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. But he said nothing and rested once again against the couch, still looking at Charlie strangely.

Charlie grinned, grabbed the notebook, and shoved it into his back pants pocket. "I just need to finish a couple of other things, I'll be done soon."

Willy grinned. "Excellent! I can't wait." Suddenly, his face changed as if he just remembered something.

Charlie smiled wildly back at Wonka. Willy was still looking at him with a large grin, but seemed to look at a loss of words. His mouth flickered as if he was going to speak and he breathed as if he was going to start a sentence, but he seemed to never be able to say anything at all, he only closed his mouth in failure every single time. Charlie grinned inwardly, realizing that Willy was going to say something about the letters. Willy Wonka was trying to take initiative for something he didn't want to do. Failing horribly, but taking initiative all the same.

"Do you want to write the return letters Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, with a large grin.

Willy frowned. "Yeah... that. I decided I might as well get it all over with." Wonka started to dig around in one of his pockets and pulled out two sheets of papers, two new light-blue envelopes, the interview letters, the business card, a quill, a ink well, a stamp, and a red ink pad.

Charlie gaped at the vast amount of objects that seemed to be able to fit in Willy's pocket. Willy picked up the quill, it was large a rather fluffy, and blue. He pulled a piece of paper towards himself, and opened the ink well. He sucked on the end of the quill, thinking for a moment, then he dipped the quill into the ink and started to write, in plum red:

_Dear AMERICA TODAY, of the Daily American Broadcasting System,_

_I, Willy Wonka, have read over your letter, and I have decided to come to your residence of New York and partake in an interview on your news network, AMERICA TODAY. Also, the contest winner and finder of the fifth golden ticket has accepted and will join in on the interview along with myself. Unfortunately, the young Bucket's Father, Mother, Grandmothers, and Grandfathers cannot come to your interview. So, I do wish and hope that our presence alone will also be enough for your newscast, and the ability to get my message across to your many viewers. On another note, I have included a phone number that will only be used for arranging the time and trip to your residence in New York. Afterwards, it will be disabled for yours or anyone else's use._

_I do hope to see you soon,_

Willy placed down the letter, once again sucking on the end of his fluffy blue quill, and added at the bottom, a very large, very intricate signature.

_From,_ _Willy Wonka_

Charlie suddenly realized, and also wondered why he never thought of it before, where Willy had received his signature 'W'. Wonka sighed, and placed down his quill. He folded up the letter, placed it into the envelope, along with a small piece of paper, and licked it shut.

Licking his lips, he smiled for a moment and muttered, "Strawberries." On the envelope he wrote the address and the return address. He opened up the inkpad, and stamped, with the stamp, on the opposite side, a large, red, frilly, 'W'.

"There," he said with a sigh. "One down... one more to go."

"See Mr. Wonka? It's not that hard."

Wonka gave him a sideways glare, but did not say anything. He turned away and reached out and grabbed another piece of paper. He once again sucked on the end of his quill, thinking intently. Finally, and after a few minutes of sucking, he started to write, this time muttering it he wrote:

_Dear FRIDAY EVENING LIVE,_

_I, Willy Wonka, and my companion, Charlie Bucket, have deiced to accept your offer for the chance to appear on your TV show, FRIDAY EVENING LIVE. I do hope that we will be able to talk about arrangements soon. In the letter, I have written a phone number that will only be used for arrangement purposes only, and thereafter the arrangements are made, that particular line will be disconnected. I hope I will enjoy my stay in New York._

_From, _

Willy signed once again his large frilly signature,

_Willy Wonka_

He slipped a tiny piece of paper into the envelope, which Charlie assumed, was the phone number, folded the letter and placed it in afterwards. He licked the envelope shut, muttering something about, "Bananas," and stamped the back with the Wonka 'W'.

Willy sighed and lay back on the couch, breathing out in such a fashion as though he had avoided something horrible. Charlie noted that it was much in the same way as his breath of relief when he missed being touched by Mike Teavee. Wonka looked over, with only his eyes, towards the mail shoot, and placed the letters in it. He pressed a clear button, which had a little 'up' arrow engraved in it, and the letters shot up quickly in the pipe, disappearing away and through the ceiling.

Wonka turned to Charlie. "Now, we have to get going. We have to make sure that everything will be ready when we leave."

Charlie was surprised at Willy's rather sudden change of subject, but didn't reject what he was saying. "But Mr. Wonka, they haven't even told us when we are going yet."

Wonka just grinned. "Still. We need to be ready. This is a _very_ big factory."

Charlie smiled back, glad to see that Willy had become much more relaxed. Wonka no longer had this ridged-ness behind his grin. He no longer had this look of loss behind his smiling eyes. For once in the past three days, he that look of excitement as he had once before.

"Right. Where do we start?"

Wonka stood up and grabbed his cane, limping quickly over to the Elevator. "Well, Charlie. Where do _you_ think we should start?"

Charlie got up and rushed inside the elevator. As Willy got in, Charlie thought intently. _Where would I start? This factory is so big. I don't even know less than half about it. Wait, where would Mr. Wonka start?_ He looked over at Wonka who was seemingly absent-mindedly looking at the fingertips of his gloves, he wasn't really looking at his fingers, rather, he was looking at Charlie out of the side of his eyes with an expectant face.

Charlie looked away from Willy. He rubbed his chin for a moment. After a few minutes, he spoke. "Shouldn't we check the chocolate? I mean, where it all comes from? To make sure there is enough while you are gone?"

Wonka grinned, turning to Charlie. Charlie felt happy; he must have said the right thing.

"Why, of course, Charlie. Exactly right." He turned and pressed the button labeled "Chocolate Hall". As the Elevator started to jet downwards he added, "I was getting worried, there are so many hundreds of rooms that you could have picked. Any others would have been wrong."

Wonka seemed absolutely pleased as the Elevator jettisoned downwards quickly. Willy grinned, realizing another reason for why Charlie was the perfect choice. As he thought, he looked at the top of the Elevator, seeing how far they had descended from his room.

"Mr. Wonka... where do you get all that Chocolate for the Chocolate Waterfall?" Charlie asked suddenly.

"Cacao Beans," Wonka said as he squinted upwards at the Elevator's top.

"No. I know that... I mean... -er-..."

"You mean, how do I get that much chocolate, and how could I possibly make it all, and where do I keep it?" Wonka said quickly, still gazing upwards, now holding onto his hat to keep it from falling off.

"Yeah."

Wonka looked down at Charlie, averting he gaze away from the Elevator top. "Well, you're just going to have to wait, now aren't you?"

At Willy's words, the Elevator slowed down, turned to the right sharply, and stopped. The doors opened to a massive room. Charlie stared at it with awe. This room was colossal. It spanned larger than the Candy Meadow ever did, and he swore it appeared as large as the field behind the factory. The ceiling was terribly high, and thousands of brown pillars seemed to hold it up with surprising strength.

It looked almost like a cathedral; intricate carving swirled around each pillar. Thousands of designs riddled the ceiling; it also seemed to be glowing with an eerie golden light, coming from above. High up on the walls were huge stained glass windows. All of the pictures were of Oompa-Loompas doing various things. One picture seemed to be a picture of an Oompa-Loompa in the Candy Meadow holding a large lollipop; another seemed to be an Oompa-Loompa in the Nut Room with a bunch of Grey Squirrels. Not all of the pictures were complete though; it seemed that it had been an on-going process that never wanted to stop.

In all respects, whether completed or not, the whole hall looked stunning in its glorious perfection. And at the very far end was the colossal Chocolate River, being fed by two huge feeder streams. Wonka grinned at Charlie's awe and walked out of the elevator with Charlie following him.

Charlie looked around the room. "Is this-"

"-Chocolate?" Willy interrupted, "Nope. Only the river is Chocolate. As much as I like Chocolate, you just can't make rooms or buildings out of it. It melts, you see. It would be too much of a waste."

"Like Prince Pondicherry?"

Wonka stopped, looking at Charlie with a very curious expression, pointing his finger near Charlie's nose. "How did you know about him? You weren't even _born _then."

"Grandpa Joe told me about it, Mr. Wonka. He told me lots of stories about you."

Wonka continued to walk, facing forwards. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. He told me how Prince Pondicherry's palace melted because he wanted to live in it, and not eat it-"

"Hmn..."

"-And he said that he requested for you to build him another one-" ("Like I would. What a waste of Chocolate.") "-But you couldn't. Because-"

Wonka stopped and whipped around angrily, which startled Charlie greatly. Willy said, in a sharp voice, "I don't need _you_ to recount my past. I think _I_ know more about it, _Thankyou-very-much._" He straightened up, still looking at Charlie. "Besides, we are not here to hear silly _stories_. Now, let's continue."

With that said, he turned around, and continued to walk towards the rushing Chocolate River ahead of him. Charlie just looked at Wonka with confusion. Had he said something wrong? He was sure he didn't, but... that look on Willy's face. He must have. It was just then that Charlie realized that Wonka wasn't all peachy-keen as he originally thought he was. Wonka could have used the Chocolate incident as a decoy to bring his problems away from Charlie's attention. Charlie sighed to himself.

Willy stopped again, in front of the large lapping river. He took a breath as if he was trying to compose himself. He turned back to Charlie and gave another grin, one very similar to the one he gave the whole group of Children about a month before.

"That," he explained, pointing to one of the streams feeding the Chocolate River, "is where the river cycles back to the beginning. The other side of the wall," Willy pointed to where the chocolate was going, "is a giant tube where it sucks up the chocolate," he make a 'sucking' motion with his hand, "and brings it back to the top of the chocolate waterfall."

"Oh, I see. Not all of the Chocolate can be used at once if it is moving that quickly."

Wonka grinned at Charlie's quickness. "Exactly. It is very important for the Chocolate to keep on moving. And, since this Chocolate is perfectly clean all the time, it makes no difference to use Chocolate that had already flowed through the river beforehand."

But it looked as though the Chocolate river was being fed by two streams, not just one. Wonka explained that one of them was the Chocolate that already had gone through the river once before, but the other...

"That," Wonka explained while walking up to the second feeder river, "is where all the new chocolate comes from."

Charlie nodded, storing away all the new information in his head. Wonka opened a door that was beside the second feeder river, and held it for Charlie to go through. Charlie entered, Willy following behind him.

The room they entered was almost as large as the other, but it was filled with hundreds of Oompa-Loompas doing various jobs around the room. The room was not nearly as fantastic in appearance, but it was serving a great purpose.

Wonka looked around the room light disgust. "This room looks so... factory-like. I could never get it to look better without loosing productivity."

Various machines around the rooms whirred and clicked mechanically. One of them in particular was taking huge chunks of Chocolate off a conveyer belt, and dropped them in a large clear vat. Charlie guessed that the Chocolate had to be five times bigger than he was, and the vat could hold more than twenty of those boulder-sized hunks of Chocolate.

Willy walked up to the vat, pointing at it. "This is the Chocolate Melting vat, one of many. I think there are fifty in this room alone. A single vat can melt up to three-hundred gallons of Chocolate per hour."

"That's a lot."

Wonka smiled. "Sure is. We need all of this Chocolate. Remember, this factory uses tens of thousands of gallons of Chocolate each and every day."

"Come over here! Come on!" Wonka disappeared quickly behind one of the large machines.

Charlie looked around as he dashed over to Willy, looking at the machines with interest as he followed.

"This," said Wonka loudly over the loud grinding noise that was coming from the machine was pointing at, "is the machine were I grind up the large boulders into powder." He pointed up towards the conveyer carrying the Chocolate Powder. "That conveyer will carry the powder to the parts of the factory that need it."

Charlie walked up to Willy and said something, but the machine was grinding so loudly, that Wonka couldn't hear a word that Charlie was saying.

"What?" Willy yelled over the noise.

"I said... who designed all of these machines?" Charlie said louder, cupping his hands so Wonka could hear him better.

"Oh! I did!"

"What?"

Willy sighed loudly, and without warning, he grabbed Charlie's arm and began to quickly lead him out of the large room, and back into the large Chocolate Hall.

"I said - I did," Willy repeated to Charlie after he closed the door behind them and he let go of Charlie's arm.

"Really? How did you find the time to do it all?"

"All what?"

"Inventing thousands of Machines, designing the factory and each and every room that's in it, not to mention inventing thousands of candies," Charlie said. "I just don't see how you could have done it all by yourself."

Wonka looked slightly hurt, but mad. "You don't believe me?"

"That's not what I mea-"

Wonka put up his hand to stop Charlie as he said, "No, no, no, I understand." His voice became sharper again. "You don't believe that I could have done all of this!" He raised his arm in the air, gesturing to the Chocolate hall, then he lowered it. "All those rooms, machines, inventions, you don't believe I did it all... I bet you think that I stole the ideas from other people!"

"No, Mr. Wonka, I'm just surprised, that's-"

"-_And_ you probably don't believe that Prodnose, Slugworth and Ficklegruber stole candy ideas from me!" He pointed his finger at Charlie's nose again, but this time in a much more accusing matter. "_You_ probably think _I _stole it from _them_!"

"No Mr. Wonka... I-"

"But you're wrong! You're _all_ wrong. I did it all myself! No help! _None_! I spent most of my life designing and creating this factory and everything that is in and comes out. _Years_ of work, _years._ I never had any help at all, none. Nobody wanted to help me. All they wanted to do was steal my ideas once I was done inventing them!" Wonka was talking faster now, and in such as way that it seemed that it wasn't Charlie who he was speaking to.

"I-" He stopped, thinking it over.

Charlie decided to stop trying to tell Wonka what he really meant, and let Willy get out whatever was on his chest. It seemed that it had been there for several years by the sound of it. He looked at Wonka's face and suddenly recognized that glazed over look that he had. Wonka seemed to be in a flashback... Wait, Wonka was not only having a flashback, he seemed to be _experiencing_ the flashback. He waved his hand in front of Willy's face as Wonka continued to rant on.

"I spent my life creating this world, only to have it stolen away from me by other people! You see? _They're_ the ones who are stealing it! Not me!" He let out a large breath of frustration.

"Mr. Wonka!" shouted Charlie as he waved his hand in front of Wonka's face vigorously. "Mr. Wonka, snap out of it!"

"That's it! Prodnose, Slugworth, and Ficklegruber did it to shut me down! Now they are probably doing much better than me now. I'll have to... do... something. I can't sell candies that they are already selling, and I can't risk have anything else being stolen. I bet they perfected the candies they stole anyway."

Charlie realized that Wonka had finally snapped under all of the pressures in the past three days. Why didn't he realize it before? Wonka had cheered up way too quickly after the Chocolate incident. How could he have been so stupid? It might have been very relieving and seriously funny to Willy Wonka at the time. But after he calmed down and thought it through, it _was_ Willy's final straw; he just did a good job of covering it up. All he needed after that was a simple little misunderstanding and he would go off the deep end. Charlie started to wave both hands in front of Willy's face, trying to wake him up from the flashback. _Why does Mr. Wonka do this to himself?_

"What's the use?" Willy sighed sadly and he looked downwards, "They have already stolen tons of ideas and methods. Never-melting Ice Cream, Ever-Flavor Gum, and Enormous Candy balloons that you can blow to incredible sizes. What else will they steal? My recipe for my Whipple-Scrumtious Fudgemallow delight bars? I have an idea for an Everlasting Candy for Children who can't afford lots of candies, or have small pocket money. But... if... if... they steal it, they'll probably make it better... and more expensive... and... it'll loose all purpose."

"I didn't go into this business to have my ideas taken and changed. I came here to make a difference in the world. By one of the greatest inventions ever. I thought... I could change the world. I was wrong... what good can I do... if... somebody just makes it into a corporation? If someone removes all care and thought? They'll try to give Candy a point, businesses and corporations... Candy doesn't have to have a point, that's why it's candy."

"That's it, I will..." he sounded sadder, "I'll close down..."

Wonka turned around sadly, "All those ideas I had... I was still designing the factory, too. What? Was it only open for a couple of years? I never did finish all of those rooms..." he sighed deeply. "I suppose I was never meant to be a Chocolatier..."

"Mr. Wonka!" Charlie repeated. Starting to get worried, it seemed as thought the one-sided conversation continued, the more depressing it seemed to get.

"...Dad was right. Oh! I should have gosh-darned listened to him! I should have become a dentist like him; what was I thinking? A Chocolatier?" Wonka gave a saddened scoff and he added in a smaller voice, "Who would be stupid enough to do that?"

Willy turned back around. "So I'll just close my factory and get out of everyone's way. I have already been 'gone' for three months. I'll just live here. There's enough room. I'll just... disappear. I'm sure that everyone would appreciate that... nobody needs a washed up Chocolatier like me. I'll just disappear for all time... eventually they'll forget my name, my factory, my candy..."

Charlie couldn't handle it any longer. Wonka showed no signs of ending his real-life flashback. He grabbed onto Willy's left arm and gave it a great jerk and shook it heavily and harshly.

"_Mr. Wonka,_ snap out of it!"

"And-" Wonka stopped. Blinking a couple of times, he turned towards Charlie. "-What?"

Charlie let go of his arm slowly, and looked up at Willy with a curious expression. "Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka looked around the room a couple of times with a half-nervous, half-embarrassed expression. He looked rather speechless as well. He didn't say anything, but he placed on a large fake smile.

Charlie looked closer at Willy, "Mr. Wonka?"

Willy looked down towards Charlie with the same strange grin on his face. "Yeah, little boy?" In fact, Charlie noticed that Wonka didn't look nervous, he looked _terrified_. Of what? He couldn't be afraid of _him_?

_Why would he be terrified of me?_ "Are you okay?"

Willy laughed nervously. "W-why would you ask that, Charlie? I'm perfectly fine!" Wonka turned away from Charlie, and looked at the elevator. "Now, if you don't mind... I have to... go..." Willy then started to limp as fast as he could towards the elevator.

Charlie started to follow him quickly, trying to match Wonka's steps. "Are you really okay?"

"Yeah, Charlie... I am..." Willy stopped, and ushered Charlie into the elevator.

"What about what just happ-"

Willy interrupted him quickly. He said, much too cheerfully, "Nothing!" He jammed a small blue key into a small keyhole by the top call button on the wall beside the elevator. Then, with his left hand he reached into the elevator and hit the "Chocolate Waterfall," button. He whipped his arm out of the elevator as the doors shut.

"Wait! Mr. Wonka!" Charlie pressed his hands against the glass as the Elevator started to jet away from Willy and the great Chocolate Hall.

As he started to disappear around a corner Charlie saw Willy turning the blue key quickly and slumping against the ground in exhaustion with a look of pure horror on his face. Then, Wonka was lost from view entirely.

"Mr. Wonka!" Charlie called out again and he beat his fists against the clear doors.

He turned his attention away from the door and towards the buttons and pressed "Chocolate Hall". But, the Elevator still continued to go towards the Chocolate Waterfall. He jabbed at the button angrily again with his thumb, over and over. But the Elevator refused, and kept on going upwards.

Charlie sighed and slumped against the edge of the elevator. There was nothing he could do. It seemed that Wonka had somehow overridden the elevator and make it impossible for Charlie to go back, or do anything for that matter. The worst of it was that Charlie didn't know the factory well enough, as Willy Wonka did, and couldn't possibly find the Chocolate Hall before Willy retreated from it. Charlie looked out of the side of the Elevator and at the various this and that flashed by. _Mr. Wonka probably had left the room already._

As the Elevator ascended, he thought back to the strange verbal flashback of Willy's. It wasn't like the normal flash backs Wonka seemed to experience. Also, it sounded like Willy was saying it, but _not_ saying it at the same time. Charlie didn't know how to explain it, but it seemed that whatever Wonka said was a mish-mash of words, thoughts and feeling all in one. He knew he wanted Willy to tell his some of his problems, but... he never expected it to be like that. And Charlie was sure that it was mostly unintended.

He had to help Willy Wonka. He just had to. He couldn't leave Willy alone in the factory, alone to his own treacherous thoughts. He recalled when the elevator rounded the corner away from Wonka that he seemed to be not depressed, but shocked, scared, and horrified of the past incident. He couldn't let Willy stay that way. He _had_ to help.

The Elevator stopped as the doors opened to the Chocolate Waterfall. Charlie felt he had three choices at that very moment: Wait in the Elevator, and wait for Wonka to use it himself and risk getting locked inside of it for hours or even days at a time. Leave the elevator and pursue Willy by navigating through the factory by himself to find the chocolatier and have a chance to get lost. Or, go home, and wait for Wonka to make an appearance himself.

The door started to shut; Charlie sighed and left the Elevator. As much as he wanted to help, he knew that getting locked in the elevator wasn't going to help much at all.

Charlie walked towards the Bucket's home, sighing to himself over Willy Wonka.

"_What am I going to do?"_

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – This Chapter may be depressing, but, I felt that it was very much needed drama of a different sort. Don't worry, I'm sure that everything will work out in the end if Charlie has anything to do about it! I really enjoyed writing it, and it just happened to work out this way. As I type particularly Characterized moments, I ask myself if a character would really do that, or say that. If I say yes, I do it. If not. I re-write it till I like it. I hope you like this Chapter as much as I had writing it. 

**Wonkaland Info** – Yup, it's still here.

Wonka's new(ish) outfit - The hat appeared in the story where Grandpa Joe was talking to Charlie about Wonka's shop on Cherry St. The coat was in the Dr. Wonka and Charlie scence, and the gloved were also in the Cherry St one. His cane... is just the one he always had.

Chocolate Hall - A beautiful Room where Wonka truly feels an excape. I loved creating and describing it.

Wonka Snaps - Rather than a normal break, he gets a flashback mixed in aswell! Isn't he lucky?

The Blue Key - Yup, that is a key that makes it so that the Elevator won't listen to any commands till it is removed. It only functions when it is twisted, not inserted. A very good excape tactic for Wonka.

Charlie's Plan - What will he do?

Stained Candy Windows - I adore these... None of them are of Willy or Charlie. They are only Oompa-Loompas.

**Chapter Twelve Preview** – Charlie is determined to help Wonka. But, what will he do to help the disstressed and terrifyed Chocolatier? And what was with that strange living Flashblack.

**To the Past Reviewers**: Thankyou so much! The review count almost doubled since Chapter 8! Wow. I love you all! -glomps-

**Quill In Hand - **Thankyou for checking it over ma amie! I can't imagine how horribly checked over my fanfiction would still be without you! -glomps you-

**Important Note**: Please Review. I wanna know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	12. Charlie's Determination

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Hello. At least this one isn't _too_ late. Believe me, I did pretty good for just moving and going to school. Man, I swear, they like giving us Grade 11's tons of homework at the beginning of School. Anyway, here is the Chapter, and there is _lots_ of Wonka-Land info for you guys to indulge in! I hope you enjoy!

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers:** If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Twelve Summery** – Charlie has finally made up his mind. He is going to look for Wonka. But, sometimes the best-laid plans may seemingly turn out for the worse, or will they? Something may have gone wrong, but will it help Charlie more than he really thinks it will?

* * *

**Chapter 12 – Charlie's Determination**

Charlie lay on his bed in his new room, he stared at the ceiling in concentration, with his hands behind his head. The walls were a pale white and were covered with tons of his various drawings, plus every wrapper from every Chocolate Bar he had ever eaten. Which wasn't many. Charlie probably had only twenty or so Chocolate Bars in his life, even though he now lived in the world's most famous Chocolate Factory. Charlie felt that as much as he liked Chocolate, he must savor it for only the best moments, like birthdays or gifts. He never wanted to loose that thrill of biting into a bar of Chocolate and letting that sweet flavor of chocolate roll in his mouth. He never wanted to loose that feeling of ecstasy after he took the first bite.

But, that was not a moment for eating Chocolate. So, Charlie lay motionless on his bed, staring at his, also covered, ceiling. He sighed and turned over, running his fingers against the sheets of the bed absent-mindedly. He had no idea what he should do. He had at first thought of searching out for Willy Wonka in the massive factory. He sighed, no that would be stupid. He had more of a chance to get lost in there than to ever find a single Oompa-Loompa. After that silly idea was in and out of his head, he thought, that he could maybe, just maybe, he could wait for Willy.

But, Charlie seriously doubted that Willy would ever come back. The man was known that when he wanted to retreat, he'd _retreat_. Wonka could be back within hours, days, or months. Maybe even years, if he tried hard enough. Charlie scowled lightly as he flipped to his back again, staring at the picture he drew of the factory that was pinned to his ceiling. He definitely wouldn't allow _that_ to happen. He knew that if Willy tried to hide for even a week, that he would be out there, searching for Willy Wonka like a mad-child.

Charlie sat up from his bed and looked at the model of the factory, that he had completed over a month before, which sat on his bedside table. He picked it up, and sat in on his lap. He examined the whiteness of its whole. He recalled his Grandfather who dreamily recounted that the day the Factory opened, it was so clean that the gray almost appeared as a glittering white. Charlie wondered why the real factory lost its white luster, and why it was now a deepened gray that nearly clung to being black.

He ran his fingers against the tower of the factory, while wondering to himself whether it was the fact that Wonka had decided to retreat for such a long time. Had Willy lost so much hope for the future, that he totally neglected his factory? Or was it just general forgetfulness on Wonka's part? Charlie placed the factory back down on bedside table. That would be something to ask Willy later.

Charlie swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up; he had finally come to a decision. He would look for Wonka. He didn't want to wait for Willy to come back to him for help. Because, Charlie knew that Wonka _wouldn't_ come back and ask him for help. He had never done it, and he knew that he never would. Charlie opened a drawer in the bedside table and pulled out a large notebook, pencil and eraser. It didn't matter, he wouldn't get lost, because he wouldn't stop until he found Wonka.

He would make a map of all of the rooms he passed and went to. Slowly deducting where he had been, and where he should go next. Charlie scratched his head. First, he needed to think of a place to start. He needed to _think_ like Wonka. He needed to start in a place were Wonka would most likely go.

Charlie opened his door and left his room, thinking to himself idly. He knew that Willy wouldn't be with any of the animals. Why would Wonka want to have animal contact when he didn't want human contact? Charlie wrote down the different rooms where animals appeared and made a side note not to go look there first.

Willy would want to go somewhere where there was not a lot of commotion. Where there were no Oompa-Loompas. And where Wonka could go for pure silence. Charlie sighed, if the Chocolate Hall incident didn't happen there, Willy would have been there. Charlie listed down more rooms where Willy wouldn't be.

Charlie crossed over the Chocolate Waterfall's bridge, and walked towards the door. He would have to find a map of the building. Or at least get an Oompa-Loompa's direction; anything that could shorten his search by a couple of hours.

He glanced over his shoulder and spotted an Oompa-Loompa using a jackhammer of sorts, drilling into the ground. He diverted his direction, and changed it to where the Oompa-Loompa worked. He stopped in front of it, then knelt down so he could look at it more eye to eye. The Oompa-Loompa spotted him, turned off his machine, took of his earmuffs, then nodded expectantly, waiting for Charlie to speak.

"Umm," Charlie started, "do you know where there is a map to the factory? Or do you know where Mr. Wonka could be right now?"

The Oompa-Loompa thought for a moment, then nodded; smiling towards Charlie.

"To which one? The map, or Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked.

The Oompa-Loompa drew a square in front of him with his fingers, then he acted like he was tracing a path through it. Charlie then realized that this Oompa-Loompa could understand English. But couldn't speak a word of it. He supposed the small fellow was talking about the map.

"The map?" Charlie confirmed.

The Oompa-Loompa nodded, walked over to Charlie, and tugged on his pants, pointing at a door that was behind the Chocolate Waterfall. Charlie followed the Oompa-Loompa's point and saw the door. "It's there?" he asked, receiving another nod from the still silent Oompa-Loompa.

"Thanks," Charlie said smiling, standing up.

The Oompa-Loompa nodded and placed the earmuffs back over his ears. Charlie walked away as the Oompa-Loompa started working on drilling once again. Charlie made his way towards the door that was behind the massive waterfall. He realized that he had never seen it before, and he sincerely wondered where it went to, and what its purpose was.

He saw that a thin path lead towards the door that was behind the Waterfall. It was barely visible if someone where to look at the Waterfall head-on, but, from the one side, it was clear to anyone that looked upwards at it. Charlie followed the path also noticing that it sloped upwards sharply. He started to trudge his way upwards; the lapping falls of the Waterfall, or Chocolatefall, fell mere feet away from him.

He made it up to the large door that was behind the Chocolate Waterfall. It was large and made out of steel, it seemed to loom over Charlie in its dark vastness. It appeared be old, but well kept, as if it was build a long time ago, but never used. Charlie placed his hand on the large handle and twisted downwards, earning a large echoing releasing noise. The door swung slowly inwards, creaking loudly, reliving itself of all the years of no use.

Charlie walked into the large empty hallway, closing the heavy door behind him. It was not lit very well, other than the pale flicker of dying out lights that lined the hallway. Only a few of them where lit and the end of the hall stepped off into complete darkness. Charlie shuddered, this was defiantly a change compared the Candy Meadow he just came from.

The hall that Charlie entered was like a walk into the factory's past. The cold, hard, steel floor of the hall had a thick layer of dust coating the floors. And the dying lights creaked as they swayed on their rusted chains. The hall was abused and forgotten. Charlie wondered for a vague moment why his idol had abandoned this hall and how long had it been neglected.

Charlie started to walk down the hall, his footsteps echoing loudly on the ground. He squinted into the darkness, looking for the map that he asked the Oompa-Loompa about beforehand. Charlie spotted on the side of the blackened wall, huge sheets of paper, ten in total. Charlie walked over to them and recognized them as being the Factory's maps.

Charlie looked confused as he read them over. These maps were incorrect. He knew that the Factory had more than just ten levels. He was _very_ sure that the factory had more than one hundred levels. But it seemed that these maps were in an age when the factory only had ten levels.

He squinted at the maps, trying to read them in the dark. It seemed that Charlie was in the former hallway that led to the Chocolate brewing rooms, and the candy rooms. Well, the old ones at least. Charlie wondered which rooms were abandoned like the hall, and which were still in use, whether changed or kept the same.

Charlie then decided, whether they were old or not, that the maps could help him, at least a little. It would give him the general idea of a very small part of the factory; it would give him an idea where to start.

He traced his finger over a faded arrow that said helpfully; "You are here".

"Okay," he tapped his finger on the arrow, "I'm here." Charlie traced his finger down and off of the map, "and the Chocolate Waterfall seems to be here. So..."

He squinted closer, trying to see the details of the maps in the darkness of the room. He noticed that a lot of the rooms seemed to be labeled with little keys. He guessed that these were restricted areas, and required keys to get into them. He ran his finger across the maps, and read the names of the rooms. "Offices", "Supply Room", "Kitchen", "Trainee Offices", "Head Office."

Charlie stopped when he read "Head office".

"Mr. Wonka might be there," Charlie said aloud to no one in particular. It was out of the way, and only Willy Wonka would really know about it, "No animals... no Oompa-Loompas..."

Charlie started to trace a route that he had to go to get to Wonka's head office. It was actually wasn't very far away from where he was at that moment it only down the hall by a couple of doors.

Charlie whirled around and head towards the old Head Office. As he walked, he thought to himself of how he was going to get Willy to open the door if he was in there. _If_ Wonka was in the room, and _if_ he was hiding there, he wouldn't be too open-armed to Charlie disrupting him by pounding on the doors, shouting like a maniac, trying to get him to come out. Charlie decided that he would approach that problem when it decided to arise.

Charlie finally made it up to the door, but nearly missed it completely. The hall seemed to have gotten progressively darker as Charlie walked on, and he found it getting more and more difficult to see the door. But, he did, and he stood in front of the door with apprehension.

Charlie lifted his hand to knock, but lowered it. He was starting to have second thoughts about bothering Willy Wonka. What if Willy really wanted to be alone? What if Wonka didn't want Charlie to bother him? What if... he would just Make Willy Wonka worse?

Charlie shook himself. No, he couldn't think like that. He could, he _would_, help Wonka. No matter what. No matter, even if Willy tells him to 'go away', or to 'leave him alone'. He lifted his hand again, and knocked slowly, but loudly, on the door.

After a minute or so of no noise coming from inside, Charlie knocked again. "Hello? Mr. Wonka?"

But no noise came. When Charlie went to knock for the third time, the door open inwards, creaking, at the hand of his knocking.

Charlie gripped his fingers around the edge of the doorway, and he peeked his head around the corner. "H-hello? Sorry to bother you Mr. Wonka, but I-" Charlie stopped talking.

There was no sign of life in the room. Charlie walked into it with hesitation. Everything seemed old, gray, and colorless. It seemed to also hold more dust than the great, dark, hall did. Nobody, but Charlie, was in the room, not even Willy Wonka.

Books and papers were strewn out all over the floor, scattered here and there, as if a great tremendous wind had taken them up and blown all over. It seemed that Willy never had cleaned out his old office once he stopped using it. Charlie guessed that Willy hadn't been in that room since he closed down his factory. Everything was just left as it was... fifteen years ago.

Charlie spotted a great large desk with various dust-covered papers and things scattered allover it messily to the right side of him. Charlie picked up of the couple of the papers and tried to read them, but the room was so dark, and the writing was so messy, that he couldn't make out as much as 'the' in the dim light.

He still tried to continue to read the paper when a glint of silver caught his eye. He placed the paper down slowly, and looked at the strange, foreign object that lay only a foot away from him. In fact, it was not only one item, but there seemed to be two.

Charlie reached out and grabbed the closest object. He felt it's smooth curvy surface under his fingers. He turned it over a couple of times in the dim light to see what it was. He realized, after a few revolutions, in the darkness, that it was one of Wonka's old shirt clasps; fashioned after Willy's famous Wonka insignia. The surface may have been smooth and flawless, but it was heavily tarnished, showing that it too was abandoned so many years beforehand. He turned it over a couple more times before pocketing it.

After his first find, Charlie was curious over what the next could be. He grabbed it and a clinking noise followed. Keys. They were keys. Charlie ran his fingers across them. There had to be as many as Willy carried on his cluttered key ring. And that was a lot of keys.

Charlie grinned in spite of himself. Those keys just might open doors to the new parts of the factory. Whether they were old or not. He now had a much better chance of finding Wonka using a ring of keys to open locked doors. It was almost inevitable that Willy would have locked himself behind a door somewhere.

Before leaving the room, Charlie grabbed some random things that could be useful in the search for Wonka. An old shoulder bag, it was rather small, but well kept. His pants' pockets were much too small for the large key ring, so, he deposited it instead into the small shoulder bag, along with the old shirt clasp and his notebook and pencil.

Charlie was also lucky enough to find some of Willy's old factory sketches. Sketches to the "new" parts of the factory. After looking them over, he found that they were fairly accurate, and they would serve a great use to Charlie in his search through the massive factory. He placed as many of the diagrams he could find in the small shoulder bag, knowing they would be of use. Along with the drawings, he found maps that were identical to the ones that were on the factory's wall.

The last of the items was a, very surprisingly, small, dull, working flashlight. He clicked it a couple of times before placing it along with his other found belongings.

Charlie turned and left the room, hoping that Willy Wonka would not be offended of Charlie looking through all of his old things. If he was to get upset, Charlie concluded, he would just apologize, place everything back, and never go there unless Wonka permitted him to do so. Then, he'd somehow make it up to Wonka, _if_ he could find the poor fellow.

_Mr. Wonka..._ Charlie thought, while sighing heavily. Charlie pulled out the small flashlight, turned it on, pointing it into foreboding darkness of the hall.

The hall appeared endless at first, because the lack of properly working lights; but now that Charlie had the flashlight in hand, he saw that the hall ended in a great spiraling staircase that lead above and below.

This was the perfect place to start his search. Wonka was surly going to go somewhere that no one else would think he would go. And this, Charlie thought, was exactly where he would go if he were Wonka. The only thing was, was the fact that he now needed to decide whether Willy would have gone up or down the staircase.

As he approached it, Charlie pulled out the maps and looked at them under the dull glow of the flashlight, trying to make his decision.

---------

Charlie had chosen to go up the staircase after a few minutes of examining the maps and sketches. He found that the upper level was locked, and thanks to his keys, he managed to get in. The staircase lead to the normal every-day factory. Charlie realized, that the only things that remained of the old factory was the "Main Office" and the strange abandoned hallway, everything else had be rebuilt into the legend that worked and ran to that very day.

Charlie had been wandering and searching through the factory for hours on end. Since Charlie couldn't find a clock anywhere, he could only guess what time it was; there weren't even any windows, so he could tell the time by the outside either.

The worst of it all was, Charlie was lost. Very, very lost. The only thing he knew, was the fact that he was still in the factory. He was starting to grow wary of looking through rooms and trying to find Wonka for hours and hours on end. Charlie had also stopped looking at the sketches, for they were now useless... whatever part of the factory he was in, wasn't on the little scraps of paper that where one Wonka's plans for the amazing factory.

He tried to ask passing Oompa-Loompa's which way it was to the Chocolate Waterfall. But, all he got in return was a couple of strange gestures and some strange noises. They may have understood English, in many cases they didn't, but they sure in heck didn't know how to speak a word of it in return. After they had finished "directing" Charlie, they abandoned him and went back to their tasks that they had stopped doing to gesture to Charlie.

But, that was all two hours ago. All of the Oompa-Loompa's had gone off to wherever they sleep, which left Charlie alone in the massive sleeping factory. Alone and, worst of all, lost. Not even the Glass Elevator could help; whenever he found an Elevator call button, he pressed it in dire hope that Willy Wonka had removed the override trigger, but every time, he was met with the same sickening disappointment: It still wouldn't come.

Even though the factory sought out to defeat Charlie, he refused to give up his search for his idol. He demanded to himself to not give up until he found Willy or, he collapsed from exhaustion and fatigue. So, he lumbered on through the halls, searching for the famous Chocolatier, so determined to see him... no matter what.

Charlie turned another corner, leading into yet another massive hall. He gazed upwards at the ceiling. The ceiling had to be at least five stories high, and was lined with massive florescent lights that hung in rows with thousands of others. Charlie knew one thing; it wasn't midnight yet. Wonka had programmed his _entire_ factory to turn off precisely at twelve o'clock midnight sharp on Friday nights. How Willy managed this great designing feat, Charlie never knew, but he was glad it could at least help him tell the general gist of the time.

Charlie passed a door; the only one that seemed to be in the entire hallway. He stopped, and looked at it with question. He shrugged, Wonka _could_ be in there. It had a higher chance than all the others did, for they where now all ruled out. What could Charlie loose? He was already lost, it was not like he could loose himself any farther than he already was.

First, as he did with all the other rooms, he tried to twist the large handle downwards. Charlie had long since, hours before, lost the patience to knock on the door and wait for Willy to make a response. He guessed that Wonka wouldn't make any noise of recognition, so he just skipped to the door-opening part.

Locked. Charlie sighed and took out the ring of keys. He started to rifle through them. Not all of the doors would open to Charlie though. It seemed that Willy had only kept lest than half of the keys from the past factory. But, there was at least a twenty-five percent chance that the keys would work.

Ten keys later, the door unlocked with a forgiving 'click'. Charlie couldn't help but grin; that was the first door that he had managed to get to open in the past hour. He pulled on the handle and the large, but light, door swung open on its oiled hinges.

Closing the door behind him, Charlie saw that the room was massive, a reoccurring theme in Wonka's Factory, incidentally, Willy liked to think _big_. _Very_ big. The room was also brightly lit, very much in the same way as the "Television Room" was. The room was also cold, but it wasn't freezer cold, it was more of a refrigerator cold. Charlie squinted in the brightness of the room, feeling his way across the wall till his fingers met a pair of goggles resting on a goggle rack.

With the goggles now on his face, he glanced across the room to see what it was and if Wonka was there too. Willy wasn't there, but all around the edges of the massively huge, and bright, room, were giant tubs of ice cream. There had to be about sixty in total; and directly opposite of the door, separating the sixty in half, was another door.

Charlie began to walk around the room, curious of the flavors of ice cream that the vats could be holding.

"_Chocolate_," he read in his head, pointing absently with his left hand at the tub he walked by. "_Mint, Vanilla, Strawberry, Cherry, Bubble gum, Raspberry, Caramel, Butterscotch, Coffee, French Vanilla, Fudge, Blueberry, Mandarin, Black Berry, Orange, Apple, Grape, Banana, Peanut Butter, Cotton Candy, Candy Floss_," Charlie stopped, and for a brief moment wondered what the difference between Cotton Candy and Candy Floss was.

Charlie started to walk again, and continued to read the labels, "_Pineapple, Cacao Bean, Walnut, Sprinkle, Cheesecake, Pie, Maple, Honeysuckle, Honey Dew._"

Charlie finally made it to the door across the room. He was amazed that Willy had managed to think up so many flavors of Ice cream. Charlie gazed up at the door, and it read; "Vats 61-120 – _Ice cream Room 2_." He stared in awe. _One-hundred-and-Twenty_ flavors of Ice cream?

Charlie decided to forget the other door and continue on reading the Ice ream labels until he found the door he entered. Then, he'd leave.

_"Honey, Lemon, Lime, Cashew, Spearmint, Cinnamon, Citrus, Lollipop, Sherbet, Wine, Ale, Gin, Brandy, Marshmallow, Sugar, Spice, Oatmeal, Peanut, Hazel Nut, Salmon Berry, Kiwi, Brown Sugar, Golden Sugar, Wafer, Brownie, Candy Cane, Candy, Ice Cream, Toothpaste, Pucker," _and last, but not least, there was a sign posted on the wall... "_Vats 61-120 in Ice cream Room 2_"

Charlie had finished passing all of the vats and reached the door, coming right back to where he started. Before opening the door, Charlie thought to remember this room for further investigation on the different flavors of Ice cream and what _other_ flavors Wonka had invented. But, that would _have_ to be for another time. He had to find Willy Wonka. He just had to, and a room filled with ice cream was not going to delay Charlie of his search for the Chocolatier.

He gripped his hand on the lever and tried to pull downwards, so he could leave the room and continue his frantic search for Willy. But, it didn't budge. Charlie tried again, but, alas, the silly lever refused to move an inch.

He started to breathe quicker, what if he got locked in the room with all of the ice cream? He was sure that he didn't lock it when he closed the door. But, to be sure, he grabbed his key ring and tried to unlock the door. No matter what Charlie did, no matter how Charlie did it; the door wouldn't open.

He pounded on the door several times with his fists called out: "Help!" Charlie cried, hoping that there was maybe an Oompa-Loompa that was late going to bed. "I'm stuck in the Ice cream Room!"

"Anyone! I'm in the Ice cream Room! Help!"

"In Here!"

Charlie started to get worried and desperate and his pounding quickened as he used both fists wildly, trying to make the most noise he could, hoping that someone, anyone heard him.

"Can anyone hear me? I'm stuck in the Ice cream room! I need help!"

"_Help_!"

But, no matter how much he pounded, how much he shouted, nobody heard him. Not even an Oompa-Loompa passed by to hear his desperate cries. Soon, Charlie had to give up, his voice was starting to give out, and his fists where starting to become raw from the constant pounding on the door.

Charlie slumped to the floor, rubbing the sides of his palms. Now what was he supposed to do? The door wouldn't open, he tried calling for help, and he was locked in a room filled with... ice cream...

Suddenly, the lights dimmed and flickered out. Leaving Charlie in complete darkness.

…And it was midnight. Meaning, no lights anymore until at least 5:00am. Charlie sighed deeply, and took off his goggles. He reached in his leather pouch and pulled out the flashlight, turning it on. He suddenly had this feeling that he had failed horribly. He had failed Wonka in two ways; He didn't find Willy, and he managed to loose himself in the massive chocolate factory, which wouldn't help Wonka at all; Would it?.

_Why did I decide to do this? I knew that I was going to get lost, I -knew- that this would happen. But why? Why did I do this? _Charlie lent against the door, and wrapped his arms around his knees, following the flashlight's beam with his eyes. Why _did_ he do that? Why did he go look for Wonka if it was inevitable that he was just going to get lost in process?

_Because,_ Charlie reasoned, _Because I just can't leave my best friend, my idol… my... big brother, alone. Even if I was going to get lost... I -had- to look, no matter what. _Charlie glanced around the room, _but, now -I'm- alone._

He grabbed the flashlight, and turned it off with frustration; angry with himself. He could at least get some sleep. It was not like he was going to go anywhere in particular.

As he lowered himself on the cool floor, curing himself in a ball, trying to get comfy. He started to find himself becoming heavy with sleep and fatigue. It seemed that he was much more tired hat he originally thought. All of the wandering through the factory searching for Wonka put him in over-drive, never noticing that he was completely exhausted.

Charlie's eyes fluttered shut, and he grew limp as sleep finally took hold of the exhausted boy and freed him of the large room and his troubles. But, in the back of his mind as he slept was the lingering worry that he'd never see Wonka again... no matter what he did.

So Charlie slept on, his dreaming form waiting to be found.

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**Authors Thoughts** – I am half-sorry that this chapter is so depressing. Why only half? Because the next Chapter is gonna be… -coughs- I can't tell you. No matter how much I want to. Well, I'm sorry that it didn't update so quickly, it _would have_ been updated earlier, but I scrapped the first 2000 words I wrote of this Chapter, which might be used for later on. So, I in-essence wrote over 6000 words. I really had a lot of fun creating the factory some more, and any and maybe all information on the new rooms/flavors will be in the Wonka-Land Info.

**Wonka-Land Info** – This thing is extremely fun to write.

The abandoned part of the Factory – Well, Wonka either didn't remember or didn't want to re-do the hall and the main office. Was it pain of memory, or just forgetfulness as Charlie thought?

The Tarnished Wonka Insignia – Yup, Willy's old "W". It looks exactly like Wonka's current "W", except it's… older…. And …. Tarnished. Same reasons as above? I wonder if Charlie is going to receive a golden "C"

The Ring of Keys – Why do a quarter of the keys still work? Well, it was not like anyone else had a copy, so why not? Charlie was very lucky to find the ring of keys, and I don't think Wonka really remembered leaving them in his old "Main Office."

12:00 Limit – Yup. I believe on nights _not_ before weekends, the lights would turn off around 1:00 – 2:00. The factory and the Oompa-Loompa's with night shift need a rest every week. Also, weekdays are faster for Wonka than Weekends, because he tries to get far ahead in his candy making.

Ice cream Room – This room is filled with Never-Melting Ice Cream. I feel, and decided, that the Ice Cream needs to be kept at refrigerator temperature rather than freezer. So, don't worry about Charlie freezing in his sleep. It might be very chilly. Why is it bright? "You could leave it in the sun for hours and it wouldn't go runny." Well, I know it has to do with heat of the sun… not the light, but Wonka doesn't want it to bleach with light either.

Ice Cream Room 2 – Vats 61-120 – These are mixed flavors like Rocky Road, and Chocolate Mint, and Cherry Cheesecake. While the room Charlie were solid flavors.

Ice Cream Flavors – Wonka and I had a lot of fun with this. I'll give you a list of the Flavors: Chocolate, Mint, Vanilla, Strawberry, Cherry, Bubble gum, Raspberry, Caramel, Butterscotch, Coffee, French Vanilla, Fudge, Blueberry, Mandarin, Black Berry, Orange, Apple, Grape, Banana, Peanut Butter, Cotton Candy, Candy Floss, Pineapple, Cacao Bean, Walnut, Sprinkle, Cheesecake, Pie, Maple, Honeysuckle, Honey Dew, Honey, Lemon, Lime, Cashew, Spearmint, Cinnamon, Citrus, Lollipop, Sherbet, Wine, Ale, Gin, Brandy, Marshmallow, Sugar, Spice, Oatmeal, Peanut, Hazel Nut, Salmon Berry, Kiwi, Brown Sugar, Golden Sugar, Wafer, Brownie, Candy Cane, Candy, Ice Cream, Toothpaste and Pucker. (Can you spot the Misfits or oddities?)

**Chapter Thirteen Preview** – Charlie had fallen asleep in the Ice Cream room. But, he feels heavy… heavy with sleep? No… Charlie was sure that he had a _long_ sleep, and why are the lights dimmed?

**About the Reviews** – I have neared 180 reviews. It was only Chapter 8 where I reached 100. I hug all of those who reviewed.

**My Beta-Reader** – I would never had finished this without Quill in Hand. I thank her will all my heart. What would I have done with out you? (Probably would have plagued you with bad-grammar and spelling.)

**Important Note**: Please Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	13. His Plum Red Coat

((**Disclaimer:** I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Because of school, this story has taken so long to write. I do hope that you do enjoy this as much as I did writing this. (And I REALLY enjoyed writing it.)

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers:** If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Thirteen Summery** – Charlie finally found his way out of the massive Ice Cream room, and he found himself facing another. How did Charlie get out, and what is now happening concerning Willy Wonka. Charlie had been missing for a long time. Will His parents, the Oompa-Loompa's or Wonka finally find him?

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**Chapter 13 – His Plum-Red Coat**

Charlie breathed slowly as he slept at the foot of the doorway. The darkness in the room was still overwhelming, giving it the illusion of complete and utter endlessness. One hand was buried underneath him, his other helping his face trying to find comfort in the crook of his elbow. The coldness of the room was finally getting to Charlie's sleeping form; his fingers were starting to go numb along with the tip of his nose. Charlie slept tiredly, his mind taking in and sorting out the past couple of day's experiences.

In the background was the systematic clinking of distant machines, getting ready for the next day's work. Except one in particular seemed to grow louder and faster as the sound seemed to approach closer to the door that Charlie rested behind heavily. There was an irregularity in the clicking against the ground, as if a smaller third click was aiding the other two in a soft limp.

The clicking wasn't loud enough to rouse Charlie from his deep slumber, but that did not stop whatever it was from approaching the sleeping boy. The clicking stopped and seemed to have done so in front of the very room that Charlie was in. Heavy breathing was heard from outside and the rustling of fabric and the clinking of metal followed quickly.

Suddenly, the dark room was filled with a shaft of dull light, making whoever was now peering in the room able to see across it. It was defiantly a _person _that stood at the doorway and peered across the room, not an Oompa-Loompa. They looked across it defiantly, looking desperately for something that they seemed to have lost beforehand.

They seemed to be also muttering to themselves as they glanced across the room, as if the figure was fighting an inner battle about whether he should be there in the first place. As they muttered, the figure completely missed the sleeping form of Charlie that was resting only mere inches away from the on-looker's feet. Until, of course, the on-looker decided to look down.

The moment the figure saw Charlie, dead to the world and on the ground, he immediately shot downwards and at the sleeping heir's side. The figure gasped lightly, worrying over the boy that lay near his knees. His hand found it's way towards Charlie's shoulder in deep concern for the slumbering boy.

Charlie didn't hear the light gasp of shock, nor did he feel a hand rest lightly on his shoulder. He was just too deep in the much-needed slumber-land. The figure knelt close the near-shivering boy. He stayed there, pondering what to do about the slumbering boy. Should he wake him? Or should he just keep the door open and flee? _Maybe I should just check that he's O.K. Then I could leave..._

"Charlie?" it said, lightly shaking his shoulders. "Charlie? Are you okay?"

Charlie stirred slightly at the light contact and the voice of the unknown. Relief flooded the figure; Charlie was just asleep, not unconscious or anything nasty of that sort. The figure leaned in closer and placed a gloved finger across Charlie's forehead. It rested there a few minutes before the figure decided to draw it back.

"You're quite cold." The figure looked up and around the room. He said then to himself rather than Charlie, "No wonder... the Ice Cream Room."

The figure turned back to Charlie and started to lightly shake him again, this time to get him up, rather than to get a response of being alive. The stranger was worried; Charlie had been sleeping for the majority of the night in a refrigerator temperature room, with nothing but a light sweater. He had to be cold, and that could _not_ be healthy. Charlie couldn't stay in the chilling room any longer.

"Charlie? Charlie... C'mon, I bet it's not fun sleeping here. -Brrr-"

"Hmf?" Charlie said in his sleep, in a semi-conscious response to the figure talking. The sound of another's voice was starting to pull Charlie away from his haven sleep.

"Yes, Charlie. Get up," the voice seemed all too familiar to the waking boy. He wondered who it was. Who else was in the factory?

Charlie yawned and got up slowly. Once he was in a sitting position, he rubbed his eyes a couple of times, his eyes still closed. Charlie yawned again, and as his eyes fluttered open, it took him a few moments to register who and what was before him. As the room came in to view, Charlie suddenly realized who was kneeling before him in a Plum-Red Coat, top hat, bearing a slung arm and a cane.

"Mr. Wonka!" Charlie cried, the sleepiness draining from him suddenly. Shock, happiness and surprise coated Charlie's face all at once. He couldn't believe it... _Mr. Wonka._

"Hi, Charlie," Wonka said with a grin as he drew back and away from Charlie.

Then he averted his gaze and he looked towards the floor with a look loss and silence. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wake Charlie. Maybe he should have just left the door open for Charlie to leave on his own accord when he woke up. Now, he would have to deal with Charlie worrying unnecessarily over his behalf. His eyes darted back to Charlie, with his head still tilted downwards. _Why_ did he wake Charlie up _now_?

Charlie smiled back happily, but sleepily. His smile faded lightly when he saw Willy turn his own face away. Wonka must have been still hurting after the incident in the Chocolate Hall. He must have been just looking for Charlie, no matter what he must have been feeling at the moment. Charlie frowned deeper; Willy would have still been hiding away if it weren't for him.

Charlie was about to ask Willy if he was all right when a shiver from deep inside him decided to remerge. He shivered deeply, the hair rising on his body as he did so. Suddenly, the room seemed a lot colder to Charlie. He jammed his hands underneath his arms in a dire attempt to retrieve the little heat he had. That's right, he fell asleep in a _refrigerator._ That probably contributed to the fact he was so cold. Charlie shivered again.

All of a sudden, Charlie felt a wave of warmth wash through him. It was the most glorious feeling he had ever felt. It was almost better than taking a bite of sweet, creamy chocolate. Charlie looked up and saw that Wonka had taken off his coat and flung it around Charlie, and was now in the process of buttoning it up the front.

"Here you go, Charlie," Wonka said while focusing on flipping up the collar across Charlie's icy cheeks. "I bet you are terribly cold. I know I would be cold if I slept in the Ice Cream Room for half of the night."

Charlie turned lightly red at the sudden kindness of his friend. He felt guilty, _he_ had gotten himself lost, _he_ had gotten himself locked in the Ice Cream Room, _he_ had probably caused Wonka to go to all the trouble of coming out and looking for him, not to mention the fact that it was probably _his_ fault that this whole mess with Willy started in the first place. Charlie felt that he didn't deserve the sudden bout of kindness from the Chocolatier.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said guiltily, "I don't really deserve-"

"- Poppycock," Willy said, interrupting Charlie with his left hand raised. "You might catch a cold!" He leaned forward and did up some more buttons on the coat making sure that all heat stayed in, "We can't have that now can we? We have to warm you up!"

Charlie had to agree with that one point. It was really cold in the room, and he did have a risk of catching a cold. Plus, Wonka's coat was really _warm_, soft and very comfortable. The sudden, an unusual, attention he was receiving from Wonka was also hinting to Charlie that maybe wearing the coat would be a very good idea concerning his health.

Willy backed up, all the buttons done up tightly and the coat snug against Charlie. He smiled. "Better?"

Charlie nodded slowly, still taking in the wonderful seeping feeling of warmth on his frigid body. He was also touched. He never knew that Willy Wonka would do such a random act of kindness. But Willy Wonka was a very unpredictable man, so he could do anything and still surprise the young boy.

Wonka nodded and stood up, straightening the sling that supported his fractured arm and sorting over the many things that plagued his mind. He did so for a minute before turning to Charlie with a grin on his face. "Well, better get back," Willy said, lowering his left hand. "I bet your p... p... p... p... well... I bet _they_'re worried."

Oh yes, his _parents, _Charlie thought with dread. For a few moments he forgot what kind of trouble he would get into for being gone for so long. How long had he been gone? How long had his parents been looking for him? What were they going to do when he came back? Charlie's parents were usually fair when it came to punishments. They didn't tend to punish harshly, nor when they didn't need to. But a feeling of dread still tugged on the back of Charlie's mind.

"Yes, Mr. Wonka," Charlie finally said, drawing his arms through the sleeves of Willy's coat.

So Willy left the room with Charlie following behind, who had mixed feelings of dread, guilt and worry filling his already troubled mind. Wonka was equally as silent as Charlie was, and was also thinking intently, worrying about this and that, and the other various things and problems that he was plagued with. He was still toying with the idea of whether to flee from Charlie at that very moment.

After a few minutes of absolute silence and toying with flee tactics, Wonka became disturbed with the silence. Charlie wasn't usually so quiet. He turned his head to see what his heir was doing. Charlie was looking down with a look of worry and concentration; he was obviously bothered about something. Willy, who didn't like uncomfortable and worrying silences, decided to break it to calm his own nerves.

"You look pretty neat-o in my super-cool coat," he said, gesturing to the Plum-Red coat that his apprentice was wearing.

The coat was definitely too big for Charlie. The sleeves fell past his fingers, and the end of the tailcoat reached down to his shins. But Charlie was not incredibly short compared to his taller companion, so it was small enough that it didn't drag on the ground. All in all, Charlie actually looked pretty good in Willy Wonka's signature Plum-Red Tailcoat.

Charlie turned away from his thoughts and towards Wonka's comment. He looked down at himself, then towards Wonka. "Thank you, Mr. Wonka, but it really looks better on you."

"Of course it does. I'm not, like, this tall," Wonka gestured at his waist with his left hand.

Charlie just laughed. Neither was he. In fact, the top of Charlie's head reached Wonka's shoulder. He was still much shorter than Willy, but at least not just up to his waist. Wonka stopped Charlie with a gesture in front of the Great Glass Elevator.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie said with some confusion, "the Elevator Buttons can't be working. I already tried." But his groggy mind seemed to be trying to tell him that the elevator _wasn't_ broken. That something else had caused its misbehavior.

Willy just grinned down at Charlie and pressed the call button. "It works. Trust me," he said.

And, soon enough, the Great Glass Elevator appeared and the door glided open happily, waiting for it's new passengers. Charlie turned to Wonka. "But I thought-"

"-Well, you thought wrong," said Willy as he stepped inside the Elevator.

As Charlie followed, his sleepy mind woke up a bit more. Ah, he remembered now. He remembered his thoughts to the chance that Wonka used something to jam the elevator. Wonka must have done _something _to the elevator.

Wonka looked at Charlie for a brief moment before pressing, "Chocolate Waterfall." Then, he rather unexpectedly sat upon the Elevator's floor, heaving a sigh, and laying his candy-filled Cane down beside him.

Charlie looked at Willy with confusion. "Mr. Wonka, why are you sitting on the floor?"

"Do you know how far you are from the Chocolate Waterfall?" Willy asked knowledgeably.

Charlie shook his head.

"Well, It took me around five hours to find you," Willy just ignored the small jump Charlie made in guilt. "But, I didn't use the Elevator... so..." Wonka placed a finger to his chin in a thinking matter. It rested there for several moments, until, "the Elevator trip should take Twenty minutes to around, say, half an hour at this speed."

"I was _that_ far away?" Charlie said with shock. He never really realized he had traveled so far. Well, he had been searching for the Chocolatier for hours on end. Who knows?

Willy yawned before he spoke. "Yup, and it's-" he took out his pocket-watch, "-three o'clock in the morning."

"Really?"

Charlie then sat down in the Elevator as well, thinking to himself intently. _Mr. Wonka said that he was looking for me for five hours, and, I fell asleep at, I think, Twelve o'clock. That means... Mr. Wonka was looking for me two hours before I got locked in the room!_ Charlie didn't know whether to feel touched or guilty that Willy had been looking for Charlie in the late proceeds of the night. In one sense, it was very kind and honest. In another, it must have been very tiring for Willy to go without any sleep and look for him. _He_ got at least three hours of sleep, but Wonka? Probably none.

Wonka then gave a great big yawn, and covered his mouth as another followed it, which only confirmed Charlie's worries; Willy _didn't_ get any sleep that night. After that, the trip in the Elevator was very silent. Neither of them said anything, because it was too awkward to do so, especially after the strange things that had been happening unintentionally.

Willy started to find he was dozing off; the whole incident was much too familiar for his liking. He remember something that happened in his childhood...

_"Now, Willy," Wilber said sternly down towards his son. "I want you to stay close to me, and not any farther than that. Understand?"_

_Young Willy nodded towards his father, with the forced tin-grin smile on his face as they walked out of the Wonka Dental Practice. Wilber had always been like that to his son, never wanting him out of his sight. Wilber feared that something would happen to Willy if he ever fell out of his grasp outside his home. That might have been the sole reason why he had decided to pull Willy out of school before he reached 3rd grade and began home-schooling him._

_They walked past various stores and Willy stopped for a second to look at a taffy-puller stretching a huge amount of taffy. Wilber spotted this and grabbed onto Willy's hand._

_"We'll have none of this candy business," he scolded his son. "I am already surprised that you disobeyed my orders and have -eaten- some." He shot a stern look at his son. "And I hope that this -foolishness- will stop. Now, let's go. I have a very important meeting to tend to."_

_Willy frowned and nodded and continued to walk to the meeting with his father. Why did he never leave him alone? Why must he always hang over him like something awful was going to happen? It wasn't like eating candy was going to kill him. He always said, "It would get stuck in your braces." But that wasn't the true reason. Why, Willy got food stuck in his braces all the time, whether it was inside or outside of his mouth. But, with braces -that- size, who wouldn't?_

_As they walked, Wilber let go of Willy's hand, and Willy was allowed to walk at his own slow, miserable pace. He -hated- going to his father's meetings. They were so dull, monotonous and -boring-. He wished that his father would drop him off at Mrs. Harvey's whenever he had to go. But no, he had to go because it was a "learning experience" for Willy. No matter how boring it was._

_Willy didn't want to become a Dental Practitioner, he wanted to become a -Candy Maker.- He could imagine it in his head. "Willy Wonka makes the best candy in the world..."_

_Then, something caught Willy's eye. A huge field filled with debris. He must have walked by there hundreds of times, but he had never seen the huge field before. Willy stopped, as his father continued to walk on._

_What ever had been there before was now fallen apart. Willy looked back toward to his father, who seemed to have taken no notice of him stopping. He looked back a couple of times before he decided to explore. It's not like candy was ever going to be found around -there-. It wouldn't hurt to take a little look around now would it?_

_So, Willy decided to explore the large, debris filled field. Wondering what it was, wondering what it -could- be._

_But, as all young children do at that age, Willy became hopelessly lost. Which, of course, was very easy for a nine-year-old with his history of daydreaming. Willy unfortunately had the directional sense of a goldfish. _

_Willy peered around a large brick wall that stood without much support in the middle of the field. Willy couldn't seem to find where he had come from. It didn't look it from the front, but the field was very large, and the huge bits of debris, scattered here and there, made it impossible to see where he came from, or where he was going._

_"Father!" Willy called out, still clutching onto the cold brick of the wall, "Papa?" he called desperately, hoping that his father would hear him calling from the massive field._

_No response. Willy began to worry. -What if Papa doesn't notice I'm gone? What if he decided that I cause too many troubles and doesn't care? What if I have to stay here for the rest of my life? What if Papa never finds me? I don't know what I'd do without Papa."_

_It didn't matter that his father was so strict. Young Willy still loved him with every fiber of his young being. Most of the time it didn't matter that he didn't like candy, and it didn't matter that he didn't like it when he played with the other children. What did matter was the fact that Wilber Wonka cared for his son as much as he knew how, and Willy respected that, even though he knew that it could have been done a different way. No matter what Wilber said to Willy, like no candy, he didn't care. He knew that his father loved him no-matter what._

_He didn't want to loose his father; he didn't want to never see him again. He could never imagine a lifetime without his father. No wonder his father never let him out of his sight. He would get lost, and never come back. Willy furrowed his eyebrows. No, he couldn't let that happen, ever. He would have to find his father._

_"Dad?" Willy called again, trying his best to cup his mouth with his hands. "Dad!"_

_Willy felt fear well up in his heart. No... He couldn't have lost his father. "Papa! PAPA!"_

_Willy started to run, calling out for his lost father. -N-no! I can't have lost Papa. I don't want to lose Papa!"_

_"PAPA!"_

_"Willy!" Attached to the voice, Willy saw, in the distance, the figure of a very distressed man. It was his father._

_"Papa!"_

_Willy continued to run and grabbed onto the waist of his father. He looked up and said, "Papa, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do it I was just curious and I wanted to take a quick look and I didn't mean to get lost, but I did get lost and I couldn't find you and I thought I'd never see you again and-"_

_"Willy, calm down," Wilber said, looking down at his very distressed son. What would he do now? It was not very often that Willy would break down into childish, hysterical apologies. But then again, he thought that he, too, had lost his son forever. He stated to rub his back. "Calm down, Willy. I'm not going to go anywhere... Ever..."_

"Ever..." Willy mumbled as he felt something shake his shoulders and something talking in the distance. Wonka kept his eyes defiantly closed and he tried to bat whatever it was away with his gloved hand, muttering, "Go away... sleep... me..." Whoever and whatever it was, was waking him from a perfectly peaceful sleep. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

"Mr. Wonka." Ah, it was that voice again. Maybe, if he ignored it hard enough, it would go away. "Mr. Wonka, the glass elevator has stopped. We've arrived at the Chocolate Waterfall."

Wonka's eyes opened, and the Elevator came into view slowly, but surely. It seemed that he had fallen asleep. Willy heaved a great yawn and stretched. Well, however long he was asleep, he didn't know. But what he did know was that it was not nearly enough for a sleep deprived Chocolatier. Oh, why couldn't he have still been asleep?

He glanced over to his side and saw Charlie dressed in his coat. How odd. Charlie was wearing his coat? How did that get there? His groggy mind tried to ponder the problem_. How did Charlie get his hands on -my- coat? _He knew that there had to be _some_ reason why Charlie was wearing it, and he was not.

"Charlie... how did you... get my coat?" Willy asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and blinking several times afterwards.

He received a chuckle from Charlie and the young boy replied, "Mr. Wonka, you _lent_ it to me, because I was cold. Don't you remember Mr. Wonka?"

Willy scratched his head, his slow-working mind starting to turn the wheels again. Ah yes, he did. Willy gave a huge fake grin. "Why, you're right, my dear Charlie! My, my, where has my head gone this evening? I think the sleep faeries have put a little too much powder on my eyes! That _must_ be the reason why I forgot!" Willy demonstrated the faeries 'sprinkling' the powder.

Charlie grinned back at Willy. "I suppose so."

Willy stretched again, trying to give the appearance that the fifteen-minute nap had fully rejuvenated him. He yawned lightly, and stood up, straightening his crooked hat with playful humming. But Charlie was starting to give him a critical stare, as if the young boy could see through his fake happiness. _Boy, this -boy- is as sharp as a Whangdoodle's stinger! I can't believe how gosh-darned quick he is. But he's not quick enough for me to not catch up. I can't let poor Charlie worry about me!_

So, Wonka grinned wider down towards the boy. "Well," he said, "let's get you home to your Mum, Dad, and dear ol' grandparents! I bet that they are all worried sick!"

Charlie looked at him with lightly narrowed and examining eyes, as if he was trying to scan Willy to see if he was truly as cheerful as he appeared to be. He then nodded and looked away from Willy, pressing the button to open the Elevator doors.

Willy sighed both mentally and physically. That was close. If Charlie found out that he went without a good night's sleep yet again, he would drop his own problems and delve at Willy Wonka's. What confused Wonka was, why did Charlie have to do that? Willy asked himself this as they made their way to the Bucket home. What was the answer to Charlie's behavior? Why did Charlie always try to help? It just confused Willy, nitpicking at his confuddled brain.

Well, it's not like it's a bad thing, Willy thought. It showed that Charlie cared about him. Willy looked downward sharply, thinking to himself. But why? _Why_ did Charlie care so much? He had only met Charlie a little over two months before hand, and truly _known_ him for over a month. But, why? Why did Charlie care so? Was it like himself? Did Charlie care for Wonka, like a... brother?

_No_... Charlie couldn't be thinking that. It was fine and dandy for Wonka to think of _Charlie_ like a brother, but not the other way around. No... preposterous. Who would want a person like _him_ as an older brother? Many people had said it; he was much too weird. But yet, Willy had this feeling that Charlie really did care for him as a brother, just as he felt towards Charlie.

As Wonka tortured himself with his thoughts, two figures burst through a door and came dashing towards the two companions both looking like they had just been outside in the freezing cold.

Of course, they both had been. It was Mr. and Mrs. Bucket, who both had gone outside in the frigid cold, hoping that they would find Charlie out there before the snow, ice, frost and illness did. But after a couple of hours past midnight of looking, they decided that maybe Charlie was still _inside_ the factory, and maybe he would have found his way home.

"Charlie!" Mrs. Bucket exclaimed as she ran up the small boy dawned in Plum-Red. "Oh, Charlie!" She wrapped her arms around Charlie in a great motherly hug. She then planted a great huge kiss right on top of Charlie's forehead.

Mr. Bucket ran afterwards and hugged Charlie deeply once that Mrs. Bucket was done attacking Charlie with her love. "You had us worried, Charlie."

"Sorry, Mum. Sorry, Dad," Charlie said. He was smiling, just happy to see that they, too, were all right and no longer looking for him.

"I know, but we'll have to talk about this later, Charlie," Mr. Bucket said, sternly, but still with a relived smile.

Mr. Bucket turned to Willy. "If you hadn't found Charlie so quickly, I don't know what I would have done with myself all night. I don't think I could sleep a wink if I knew that he was lost somewhere."

"I er-" Willy started to speak, and raised his hand, but was cut off before he could even say his second word.

"Charlie really should have thought first, before he went to go look for you," Mr. Bucket started, gripping onto Charlie's shoulder while speaking to Wonka. "Even though it was good intentions, I'm pretty surprised that Charlie did it."

Wait, was Charlie's Dad scolding Charlie? Wonka looked slightly taken aback. Couldn't he see that it was _his_ fault, not Charlie's?

"Sorry, Dad, I was just so worried," said Charlie, looking up at his father.

Why was Charlie apologizing? It was _his_ fault, not Charlie's. He should explain.

"I um-" Willy placed his hand down again, words lost once more.

"I know son, I'm not upset at all. I just hope you understand to tell us first before you go on a factory escapade," Mr. Bucket said, grinning down at Charlie. "Just promise to never repeat this _again_."

"Yes, Dad."

"I-"

Mrs. Bucket placed a hand on Willy's shoulder. "We can't thank you enough for finding Charlie, Mr. Wonka. Without you, Charlie would still be lost in this factory. Thank you so very much."

Willy jerked away from Mrs. Bucket's thanking hand, words having come back to him. _Now_ he could explain the _real_ problem. "No! Don't _thank_ me. You should be _blaming_ me!"

"Blaming you, sir?"

"Yeah!" Wonka exclaimed, throwing up his arm. "It's _my_ fault that Charlie got lost! If _I_ hadn't acted so... _childish_, this would have _never_ happened! In fact, if _I_ had never designed this factory so doggone confusing this would have _never_ happened. If _I_ had acted more like an adult and not like a little boy, this would have _never_ happened!"

"Mr. Wonka, it's O.K, we understand," Mr. Bucket said, slightly confused on Willy's sudden, self-accusing outburst.

"No! I just don't want you to punish Charlie for something that _I_ caused! If you have to punish anyone, it would have to be _me_! I think the newspapers were right; this factory is _much_ too unsafe. And I-"

"_Mr. Wonka_, I think they understand; and this factory is _not_ unsafe," Charlie said loudly, trying to get Willy to be quiet. Evidentially, Willy was still in a very fragile state of mind. The last thing that Charlie needed was another strange episode, courtesy of Willy Wonka.

Mrs. Bucket patted Willy's shoulder. "Willy, we are _all_ at fault. Not just you, not just Charlie, but _all_ of us."

Willy shut his mouth, took a huge breath and nodded. He then let it all out, along with his tension, and closed his eyes when he did so. He opened them again, and looked up towards the Buckets.

"W-well," he said with his signature nervous grin. "I'm glad that's all settled. Well, I better be off! There is too much to do, and too much to work on," Willy said, hoping that he could just get up and out of that Chocolate Room, and back to wherever he was hiding before. "I'll see you later Charlie; and I hope that you don't punish him for this," he directed his last comment specifically to Mrs. Bucket and Mr. Bucket.

"Willy?" Mrs. Bucket said, stopping Wonka who had only taken a few steps away.

"Yeah?"

"Pray tell, what do you have to do after three o'clock in the morning? If I remember rightly, you said that on Saturday mornings work doesn't start till eight."

Willy stopped. Darn. She had him there. But now what could he do? He couldn't very well go up to her and say, 'sorry, the real reason why I don't want to be here is because your presence disturbs me because you are parents. Plus, I feel really bad about the whole day and I would rather that I would not see you guys again till a few days from now. Also, I feel that I have been really horrible to Charlie all day and I would really not want to do anything else to Charlie. So I'll remove my presence.' Yeah right... like that was going to work. Instead, Wonka just stood there and grinned for a moment.

"Mr. Wonka, how about you stay here for the night?" Mrs. Bucket offered.

_What, what did she say?_

"You don't have to and we are only a couple of yards away from home. I don't dare want to make you make your way home when it's so late. You must be so very tired."

Willy looked rather astounded. He didn't know how to respond to that question. He looked from side to side at nothing in particular to make his decision. Well, what would _one_ night do? It wasn't really a full night, so... it wouldn't hurt to try it, would it? No, he shouldn't be a bother. It wouldn't be polite to impose himself on them, and especially when they had such a small house.

"No, no, it's alright. I can make my way up to my room," he said. Willy glanced across the room at the Elevator. The Great Glass Elevator did seem so _far away_ compared to the Bucket home.

Mrs. Bucket must have caught Willy looking back on the Elevator, because she placed her hands on her hips. "Mr. Wonka, why don't you stay here for the night? I think, and I know these things because I'm a mother, that you really don't want to make your way all the way over there, _then_ to your home."

Willy just gave a nervous laugh and turned slightly away from her. _That's_ where Charlie got it from. The _whole_ family was like that!

"Please, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, looking up towards Willy.

Willy looked down at Charlie, at Mrs. Bucket, and at the Elevator in the distance. Then, he looked down with a look of defeat. "Oh, _why not?_"

"Great," Mr. Bucket said happily, "I'm sure Charlie'll show you where you are sleeping."

"Yes, but before that, we'll have some nice cups of warm milk, then we'll all tuck in for the rest of the night. Sound good, Mr. Wonka?" Mrs. Bucket asked.

Willy just grinned, not exactly sure what to say. "S-sure. Whatever you say."

"Let's go, Mr. Wonka!" Charlie said as he started off towards his house.

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – This Chapter was so sweet to write. I got so warm and squiggly inside when writing the part where Wonka puts his coat over on Charlie, and I felt happy when I wrote Wonka's bittersweet dream about being lost. I also saw that this chapter had a lot of Symbolism in it. I really hope that I portrayed it correctly and you understood it. All in all, I loved writing this Chapter

**Wonka-Land Info** – Not a lot. I felt that this chapter didn't need much this time.

The Large Field – What is it? I'm not telling…

New York – Are they ever going to go there? Yes! They will! I promise that they will go to New York. It just hasn't happened yet. But, belive me, within the next couple of Chapters, Wonka and Charlie will go to New York.

**Chapter Fourteen Preview** – It is the afternoon, and the TV shows have responded to Wonka's return letters. He now has dates to be in New York. Now, Charlie and Wonka have to truly prepare this time to go to New York

**About the Reviews** – I have reached 197 reviews. It was only Chapter 8 where I reached 100. I glomped all of those who reviewed.

**My Beta-Reader** – I would never had finished this without Quill in Hand. I thank her will all my heart. What would I have done with out you? (Probably would have plagued you with bad-grammar and spelling.) I thank her so much.

**Important Note:** Please Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	14. Emerald Phone Call

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Wow! Two whole weeks! That is the longest delay I have ever done, the shortest being a single night between Chapters (Ch 1 and 2). I am so sorry, I am in a pre-collage Art course and am in grade 11, so a lot of homework. Though, I do try and click away on it whenever I have the healthy chance. I assure you, I will try to be a little quicker with Chapter 15. Yup, yup, yup! I have allready typed some of Chapter 15 _before_ I send this Chapter. Hehehe. So, I dearly hope that you won't have to wait two weeks for this one.

**Edit: **Just changed that silly mistake...

P.S: I had computer trouble, so it was sent two days late. I am -so- terribly sorry!

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers**: If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Fourteen Summery** – It is now the next day after the strange living-flashback and Charlie running around aimlessly around the factory, looking for the distressed Chocolatier. But, Wonka decides, even though he wants to, he won't hide, for Charlie. Now, he has do deal with AMERICA TODAY and FRIDAY EVENING LIVE responding back to his recently sent letters.

* * *

**Chapter 14 - Emerald Phone Call**

Charlie's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the ceiling for a couple of moments, gathering his thoughts for the day. It was a wonder that he was even in his old room at that moment, because the day before, Charlie was _sure _that he would be lost forever in that factory. But there he was, safe and sound, thanks to Willy Wonka.

Oh yes, Willy Wonka, Charlie remembered. He had come to the old Bucket home for bed as well, because of Charlie's mother's insistent nagging for his health. Charlie thought that Willy deserved to have a good sleep. He had this strange feeling that Willy would have fallen asleep in the elevator if he were to make his way back to his home by himself. So, sleep in the house would at least reassure Charlie that Wonka would receive enough sleep, comfortably.

Charlie had been up to his old room to sleep, and Wonka must have been set up on the couch for the night. Though, Charlie didn't remember the journey upstairs and into his bed. He must have fallen asleep when he was drinking a mug of Hot Coca with Willy Wonka. Charlie grinned, his parents must have managed to carry him to his bed when he was still asleep.

Charlie sat up and yawned, stretching all of the tired knots out of his system. He swung his legs over the edge of his bed and made his way towards the latter. Quickly and silently, Charlie descended down and into the main level of the small house.

His mother and father were already awake, bustling around the kitchen, fixing breakfast.

"Morning, Mum," Charlie greeted his parents. "Morning, dad."

Mrs. Bucket put down the frying pan she was working with and turned around. "Good morning Charlie, dear. How did you sleep?"

Charlie grinned. "Great. Where's Mr. Wonka?"

"Charlie darling, Willy is still asleep, so I suggest you be quiet and let him finish up his rest." She then gestured towards the couch, which had Willy Wonka laying on it, fast asleep.

Charlie nodded, agreeing he didn't want to wake Wonka from his restful sleep.

It was odd for Charlie to see Willy Wonka sleeping so peacefully. Even though he had seen him sleep before, both times were very odd circumstances. But this time it was just normal, peaceful, sleep. Willy was lying on his back, a pillow lightly lifted his head and his breathing was peaceful and silent. He even looked slightly happy with himself while he slept on peacefully.

Charlie looked at his idol for a few more moments before turning around to ask his mother if he could help out with cooking preparations.

----------------------

Willy lay on the couch silently, his mind already starting to reel and wake up. It was interesting feeling, he hadn't felt so rested in such a long time. How long had been asleep? Well, as long as it wasn't past Seven o'clock, it would be O.K to rest his eyes for a little bit longer.

The night before was interesting and he recalled it with his eyes still closed, still having the appearance of deep, restful, sleep.

When Charlie and Wonka had gotten to the Bucket house from the adventure that Charlie had before, Willy had a half a mind to bolt right there and then. Why would he stay? What would be the point? He felt at that time that he would only cause more problems for the small boy. But Charlie's mother insisted that Willy would stay, and enjoy a mug of warm milk. Charlie instead suggested changing that to hot cocoa to help convince Wonka to stay longer. In the end, Willy stayed, and the night was underway.

While finishing the hot coca, Willy sat side by side with Charlie on the tattered couch in the Bucket home. Though as Wonka sipped his hot coca nervously and in silence, he wished dearly that Charlie wouldn't sit by him, especially after everything that had happened the past day. But, no matter how much he was itching to flee at that moment, he did not. He stayed to only hear the lively conversation of Charlie recounting his adventure in the factory.

The only talking Willy did himself was the quick nod of his head, in agreement, or a strange awkward laugh here and there when a question was directed his way.

Willy remembered after a half hour of talking, both he and Charlie had become very sleepy. In fact, he was sure that Charlie and himself had fallen asleep at almost the exact time, one leaning against the other, with empty mugs clenched in their sleepy fists.

After that, Wonka had no idea what happened. He assumed that Charlie was carried up to bed by his parents, and he, Willy Wonka, had somehow managed to lever himself into his usual, and strange, sleeping position.

It wasn't all that bad, he thought to himself. They didn't seem mad with the fact that it was his entirefault. And, they didn't seem mad that it definitely _his _fault that Charlie had gotten lost in the factory in the first place. It actually seemed that they _didn't_ realize that it was his fault in the first place.

As Willy's mind began to wake up, a wonderful smell wafted into Wonka's nose. Now, Willy didn't usually come down to the Bucket home for breakfast, and when he did, it was rather unexpected and spontaneous and they didn't usually have the time to prepare anything special. But this time he _was_ expected, so a wonderful breakfast could be heard and smelt, cooking in the distance.

Wonka opened his eyes, though didn't really want to, and looked at the Bucket's ceiling, though he still refused to move from his ridgid position. Then, without moving his head much, he glanced across the room to see Charlie and his parents working diligently in the kitchen.

A frown swept over Willy's face. He couldn't let them cook breakfast while he was still sleeping. That would be much too rude. He would have to help, somehow. So, Wonka sat up abruptly, which made all the blood rush to his head uncomfortably. Willy had stars flash before his eyes before he plopped, quite conveniently, back onto the couch with a rather loud 'thump'.

Upon hearing the 'thump', Charlie turned around briskly. "Mr. Wonka?"

Willy blinked a couple of times ushering the flashes of colours and darkness to stop impeding his sight. He heaved another heavy breath as he sat up to look forwards and at the boy that was now staring at him, holding a frying pan in one hand.

"Oh, morning Charlie," Willy said with a grin, and he swung his legs over the edge of the couch, so he could look at Charlie better.

"Did you have a good rest, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked while he passed the pan to his mother.

"Yes, Willy dear," Mrs. Bucket said, grinning at Wonka, taking the pan from Charlie. "Did you get enough sleep?"

"Oh, yes, I did," Willy said with a smile. Whether it was fake or not, Charlie couldn't even tell. "It was just a splenderiffic sleep."

"That's good dear," Mrs. Bucket said, as she turned around and tended to the crackling bacon.

"Willy-," Mr. Bucket started.

Wonka turned to Charlie's father. "Uh, yeah?"

"-Breakfast is almost ready. So, if you want, could you please help Charlie set the table? Once you've woken up a bit more, of course."

"Oh no! Don't worry, I'd love to help," Wonka said with his trademark grin. "Why wouldn't I?"

So, Willy levered himself off of the tattered couch and began to help Charlie set the table for a large and rather delicious breakfast.

----------------------

Wonka walked down the halls of the Factory quietly. He hummed to himself as he did so, as if he was trying to convince someone that he was all right. Charlie wasn't with him at that moment, because he explained to the small boy that he was too busy, and he needed to finish up some work before they could hang around the factory together later on that day; if they had the time to do that at all.

Willy sighed, and he pulled out his ring of keys as he reached the Great Glass Elevator. He looked down at them for a moment and fingered the tiny blue key. He wished he never had used it. He wished he would never have to use it again. Well, if he did have to use it, he would. Wonka pulled his mind away from the blue key and turned to his purple one. Well, at least he knew that if he was in his home, Charlie could never find or bug him. The only way that Charlie could do that was if he had a copy of that key, and Wonka knew Charlie didn't. Because _he_ had the only purple key.

Wonka entered the Elevator and plugged the purple key into its keyhole. As the Elevator shut its doors, Willy wondered to himself whether he would be able to handle going to New York with Charlie. It would just be with Charlie, nobody else, _and _he would have to deal with _hundreds_ of people, maybe more.

He had only been outside the factory a few times since he closed it down. First, he traveled the world silently to find new exotic flavors, which ended in him finding the Oompa-Loompas. Second, when he was outside to greet the guests and the five possible heirs. Willy shuddered, remembering all of the press flashing their cameras and trying to get pictures of the, assumed to be hidden, chocolates. Third, when he went outside to talk to Charlie, which led up to a meeting with his estranged dentist father, Wilber Wonka. The fourth and latest time was when he and Charlie had to find a way out of the steel room, and he needed to go to the doctor. He had to say, that was the worst of all of those experiences. Everyone was there, staring at him, taking photos, muttering behind his back.

He recalled, during the last time, that he had fainted. He was sure that he would do that again, or something worse might happen to him. He had to admit it was a problem; he hated talking to people, he always had. It took him ages to warm up to anyone and he would hate to talk to groups of people.

He still felt extremely uncomfortable talking to a group of Oompa-Loompa's at once, and sometimes, he fainted during such conversations. He remembered after such times, he felt thoroughly embarrassed, and he refused to look at an Oompa-Loompa for days afterwards.

The Elevator's door's glided open, and revealed the inside of his very blue, living room. He sighed for a moment as he took off his shoes, hat and coat, and he made his way into his green-themed study, with formal slippers slipped on his feet. Willy graciously realized, at that moment, that his ankle didn't nearly hurt him as much as it did before hand. Wonka felt that, at least, _something _was going right.

Wonka sat down in an emerald-green green chair, and he kicked his legs up and onto his desk. Willy gave a stretch with his left arm folded behind his head as he leaned back as deeply as he could in the chair, gazing up at the ceiling; mind riddled in thought.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Wonka sat up abruptly. That phone hadn't rung in years. OK, that was an exaggeration, but still, it had been a very long time since Willy had heard it's ringing calls.

It rang again.

Should he answer it? Willy contemplated doing so, he also thought about the option of just ignoring the fact that he had a telephone and not answer at all. _But what if it was important? _If it was important, they would phone back. _But what if they didn't?_

That's it, he couldn't stand it, he had to answer that phone.

Wonka got up from his chair and dashed across the room and picked it up.

"_Hello?_" a feminine voice could be heard from across the line as Willy stood there, slightly stupidly, wondering what he should do next. "_Hello? Is anyone there? Hello? Mr. Wonka?_"

Wonka took a couple of breaths and he responded shakily. "Uh yeah? This is Willy Wonka speaking," then he topped it off with a nervous giggle.

"_Hello, Mr. Wonka, this is the company America Today, we are phoning you about your letter that you sent to our offices._"

Already? Willy thought, he had only sent the letters the day before. How could they have _already_ received them? "A-already? That's... weird... I just sent the return letter yesterday."

The other on the phone chuckled lightly. "_We understand your confusion, Mr. Wonka. You see, we had an employee waiting in your town for you to send your return letter. He e-mailed us as soon as your answer hit the post office._"

Willy frowned; they _assumed_ that he would respond to them? What's more, they decided to place, in essence, a _spy_ in the town, waiting for his response? How rude. Why couldn't they wait for a response like a normal person?

"Oh," he said with nervous, and fake, amusement. "That's neat."

Another laugh. "_Yes Mr. Wonka. The other company that owns Friday Evening Live was also contacted about their letter back._"

Them too? "Is that a bad thing?"

"_Oh no, Mr. Wonka. America Today and Friday Evening Live usually share guests. We have decided to invite you into New York in the same time frame. You'll find it'll fit your schedule quite nicely, sir,_" she said kindly.

"Oh. Thank you," he said faintly, though he wasn't too sure if he was thankful or not. "It is kind of you to inform me of such details." He paused. "When will it be best that I visit you in New York?"

"_Well,_" typing could be heard on a keyboard, "_looking at America Today and Friday Evening Live's schedules, it seems that they are pretty much booked for the next week. But I'm sure that they could squeeze you in one week's time. What do you say?_"

One week? That wasn't _too _close, but then again... it was. Maybe he would even have that gosh-darned cast off of his arm by then. One week didn't seem _too_ bad. "Sure, one week. It works with me, and I am positive that it works for the young Bucket as well."

"_Good. Let me put you on hold while I confirm the air-dates and times, sir._"

"Yes ma'am," Willy said, semi-grateful that he didn't need to listen to that stranger's voice. He instead, could now listen to the calming, boring tones of the hold machine.

Well, it was settled. He would be going to New York. He couldn't stop it now. It was inevitable. There was no-way that he could get out of it now. Well, maybe, but he knew that Charlie would never allow him to run away.

"_Mr. Wonka_?" The woman came back onto the phone so abruptly, that it startled Willy, causing him to shout and cause himself to drop the emerald phone onto the floor.

He picked it up, coughed, and said. "Sorry about that."

"_Are you all right?_"

"Yes, yes, just dropped the phone," he gave another nervous laugh.

"_I see. Well, it seems that everything is in order. You have been scheduled in exactly one week from now. How do you plan to arrive here? We could arra-_"

Willy interrupted. "No, no, it's fine. I can get there myself. I will be there. What time?"

"_Would eight o'clock in the morning be too early? Because that is the only time we can get a good booking for a hotel._"

Hotel? Good grief. He forgot that he would have to stay there for a while. "For how long? I mean, how long do I need to stay in New York?"

"_Well,_" more clicking in the background,"_America Today wants you first a couple of days after you arrive, and Friday Evening Live wants you much later. So, around two weeks, maybe more. Is that alright, Mr. Wonka?_"

He hesitated. "Yes. It's fine. Fine by me."

Two Weeks? Two _weeks _or _more_? How was Willy going to survive in the bustling city of New York with just Charlie by his side? How was he going to manage consciousness during the whole of the trip? He knew that he'd faint at least _once_. And that, would really freak out Charlie, and make him worry more than he really needed to.

"_Mr. Wonka? Mr. Wonka? Are you there? You didn't answer my question._"

Oh, he was thinking so hard that he didn't really pay attention to the fact that he was still talking on the phone, and he happened to be talking to the person who was planning the next few days of torture for himself and his smaller companion.

"Uh, sorry," a nervous laugh, "What was that?"

A chuckle in return. Gosh, Willy wished she would stop doing that sickening laugh. "_Mr. Wonka, I asked if it was all right if we could only book you a single bedroom hotel. The upside is, is that it has a living room, a study room (the company thought you'd appreciate that), a large bathroom with a shower and a bath, and a small kitchen._"

Wonka frowned; one bedroom? There was Charlie, and himself. They needed _two_ bedrooms. "Uh, I can't exactly do that."

"_Why not sir?_"

"You see, if you haven't realized, I have Charlie with me, and we need a bed _each_," Wonka said, slightly annoyed with the whole matter. How could they have forgotten about little Charlie?

"_Sir, we understand that Young Charlie is going and-_"

"-And? Then why wasn't he given a room to sleep in? Why wasn't he accounted for?" Wonka said, with a much harsher tone.

"_We tried to book one with two rooms, but, they are all out for the whole two weeks that you and the young Bucket are visiting. We were hoping that you could compensate and somehow arrange the sleeping arrangements yourself._"

"Fine. I understand," Willy said with frustration. He didn't want to argue with the stranger on the other line, he'd just sort it out himself.

"_Good, sir,_" she paused for a moment, "_Oh, we have one more thing to sort out with you._"

"What is it?" Why did she have to keep on talking? Why couldn't she just be quiet and leave him alone? All he wanted to do was hang up and deal with his day. But she kept on talking.

"_Sir, we are offering to pay for your trip to and from New York. We are wondering if you don't mind travelling by commercial flight oppose to personal._"

Well, if they offered to _pay_ and _arrange_ the trip to New York, that could relive some stress on his hands.

"What's the difference?"

"_Commercial is a plane with other passengers on the flight-_" Wonka shuddered. Ew. Other people. "_- and personal is usual just you on a small personal plane._"

Before Wonka could say a single thing, she continued, "_We suggest commercial because they are safer flights than the personal. These planes are easier to keep track of, and you wouldn't have to book a terminal in order to fly in. But it's your choice Mr. Wonka._"

Willy thought for a moment; what would he choose? The commercial which was packed with... people but it was safer. Or, personal, which was not as safe, but... no people.

"_Which is it, Mr. Wonka?_"

"Uh... Commercial. Yes, I would like to book two seats on a commercial flight for two weeks from now. Umm... one has to be a window seat." Willy decided he could not risk Charlie's, or his own, safety because of his silly fears. "Please be sure that we get a set of seats that are pretty private. Ya'know, not a lot of people?" At least, he could _try_ to get away from everyone.

"_We can do that for you sir. There will be no problem._"

A pause.

"That's it?"

"_Yes, should we phone you back with the exact times, place and date?_"

Wonka hesitated. Oh... yes... that. He guessed he _couldn't_ de-connect that line just yet. "Uh, yeah. But make it soon. I don't want to wait much longer. I'll give you three days, kay? And no silly phone calls that have _nothing_ to do with the arrangements, kay?"

"_Yes, yes, Mr. Wonka. Don't worry; no other employees of this company or the other have your phone number. So, you don't have to worry at all."_

"Good."

"_Well, bye then_."

"Kay, bye," Willy thrust down the phone quickly and it hung up with a clatter.

Wonka heaved a sigh and leaned himself against the set of shelves that the phone resided on. He put his hand on his head and rubbed his temple idly. He hoped that he wouldn't have to do _that _again. But, he knew that he would; they were phoning back, so he had to. But, after that, he wouldn't have to talk to them again.

----------------------

Willy had been up in his personal quarters for around three hours, and he supposed that he should go down and tell Charlie the current arrangements. Wonka backed his chair away from the table and away from all of the paperwork that took over nearly his entire desk. Willy leaned back deeply in his chair and gazed at the clock that was across the room. One o'clock. It wasn't too late; he supposed Charlie was all finished up with lunch.

Wonka stood up, picked up his cane, and walked out of the room. He stopped and rubbed his chin for a moment, looking over the vast amount of coats that he could pick from. At last, he picked a nice Twilight coat. The coat itself was rather fabulous in colour; it blended from purple to orange, to yellow, to blue in perfect gradient.

Willy grinned as he put it on, and wondered why he didn't wear this particular coat more often. He took his top hat and placed it gingerly on his head, and he made sure that each shoe was on the correct foot, even though he'd never screw up like that.

_Okay, _Willy thought, metal hitting himself. _Stop delaying. You need to get this all over with, kay?_ He felt that he had a point; he had been delaying telling Charlie for three hours in total, and he knew that if he didn't get his butt in gear, he'd be delaying for another three hours or more.

Wonka sighed and walked into the elevator, pressing, "Chocolate Waterfall," which had now become a very accustomed button for Willy to press. He hummed his way down, across, and sideways to the Chocolate Waterfall.

The moment the Elevator slid into place and opened up, Charlie popped up in front of Wonka, startling him greatly and caused him to recoil backwards, clutching onto his top hat.

Charlie, looking equally startled, said, "Oh, hello, Mr. Wonka."

"H-hello Charlie," Wonka said with a nervous laugh attached. "What are you doing here... at this exact moment?"

"I was going to take a look around the factory."

Willy's features hardened. "Charlie..." he said with a light scolding tone. "What just happened yesterday? Don't you remember? You got lost. I don't think the day after is an exactly great day to go exploring again."

Charlie grinned sheepishly with his hands behind his back. "I know, I was just... bored. Grandpa Joe and Grandma Georgina are asleep; Grandpa George and Grandma Josephine are too. Mum and Dad are busy, and so were you... I had nothing to do. So, I decided to go exploring."

Willy frowned for a moment. Bored? In _his_ factory? Well, he thought it was a matter of being _alone,_ not boredom. Maybe Charlie would be happy to hear that he would be spending two weeks with Willy Wonka, and that was going to happen in a week or so.

"I see. Uh, Charlie, I have something to tell you, about the trip to -er- New York."

----------------------

Willy had explained to Charlie about the current arrangements, and now the only thing the pair had to do was wait for the second phone call. At least, they deducted that the flight to New York would be on the twenty-second and around four or five o'clock in the morning.

And now, they had to set up the factory for a two-week period, the first in ten years, without Willy Wonka watching it over. It would be up to an army of Oompa-Loompas and Mr. Bucket to make sure the factory was kept up and running and still making chocolate.

Wonka and Charlie walked down a hall, both having very important business to tend to. It just so happened that every sixteenth of the month Wonka had a rigorous checkup of the factory, which usually took a couple of days to complete. Now, it would surly take a week because of the leaving arrangements of Charlie and Wonka. They had to make sure that every Oompa-Loompa understood what was going to happen, and that every Oompa-Loompa was knew exactly what to do and how to keep everything under control for the weeks up to come.

"Okay, Charlie, I usually start with the most important thing first," Wonka said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"The chocolate, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, looking up towards Willy.

Willy laughed. "No, but that is important, don't get me wrong. You know what's most important? The Oompa-Loompas."

"Oh, that's right Mr. Wonka! We have to tell the Oompa-Loompa's what's going to happen, right?"

Willy grinned as he looked down at Charlie. "That's exactly right, Charlie. Excellent."

Wonka turned away and gulped deeply. He loved the Oompa-Loompas, and he didn't mind talking to one, or even ten, for a short amount of time, but fifty or more, one hundred? No, he had a lot of trouble doing that. So much trouble, that he hadn't talked to one hundred Oompa-Loompas at once for a long time.

Well, he knew that he had to at some point in time; it was inevitable. There was no way to stop it, only to delay it. So, now he was going to face over one hundred Oompa-Loompa's: over half the entire Oompa-Loompa population. That was a lot of Oompa-Loompas. At least Charlie would be there with him. Maybe he could handle it with Charlie there by his side.

Wonka and Charlie stopped at a door which had "Oompa-Land" written over the top of it.

"Oompa-Land?"

"Yeah," Willy said, "Oompa-Land. You see, I made an _exact_ copy of Loompa-Land for my Oompa-Loompa's. But, since _Loompa_-Land was fully of nasty things like Whangdoodles, and what I made wasn't, I called it _Oompa_-Land," Willy explained. "It also just so happens that a lot of my cacao beans are grown here too, especially for the Oompa-Loompas."

_Wow,_ thought Charlie, _Mr. Wonka had gone through a lot of trouble to make sure that the Oompa-Loompas feel comfortable in his factory._

"Well," started Willy with some apprehension. He placed his hand on the door, ready to open it. "Here we go."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts** – This Chapter was fairly interesting for me to write. It was fun, but exhausting, not in a bad way though. This Chapter is really setting up for the next Chapter or so when Wonka and Charlie finally go to New York. I do hope you enjoy it. 

**Wonka-Land Info** –

The Phone System – How does it work? Well, Wonka always gets a different phone number. He constantly changes it. The reason: for things just like what it happening. He only wants to use it once or twice and he doesn't wasn't anyone else bothering him about it. He really hates talking to people and a phone is just another way for people to talk to him. He only uses it when necessary. So, after he disconnects the line, they won't be able to contact him at that number again.

Charlie's Hieght – Hmm. Has Charlie grown taller? No, he has not. In fact, Charlie is as tall as he'll ever be for awhile. Well, Willy is just short, even shorter without his shoes and hat, and Charlie reaches to his shoulder. Poor Willy, he's just short.

Oompa-Land – Yup and exact, and much kinder, replica of the Oompa-Loompa's home, Loompa-Land. But, Wonka already has explained that, now hasn't he?

Wonka's Unusually Bright and Blendy Coat? - Umm... yeah. It's -er- bright, and blendy? I dunno, but I picture it rather pretty-like. So, when I get the change to get a non-sucky computer, mabye I'll draw and show you a picture of what I think it looks like. Oh, I picture him wearing pine-green leather/rubber gloves with it.

**Chapter Fifteen Preview** – First he has to talk to Oompa-Loompa's, and then he's going to get the fill arrangements about the flight plan. It is pure madness as the days go buy as Willy and Charlie prepare to at last go to their feared destination, New York.

**About the Reviews** – Brillant Idiot? Just to let you know… she's a family member! -randomly huggles her- Oh, and thankyou for all of your reviews! I have recived over 200 now, and my jaw just drops! Thankyou oh so much!

**My Beta-Reader** – Where would I be without Cadenza Cavatina? (previously Quill in hand). I thank her so much!

**Important Note**: Please Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	15. Fright Before the Flight

((**Disclaimer: **I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Well, this didn't take _as_ long as the last time. But nearly! For information on what exactly is happening concerning all of my fics, look at my Profile, which will be hopefully updated everytime I update a chapter. That way, it saves me typing at it keeps you all informed!

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: **If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Fifteen Summery **– Willy and Charlie now have to face talking to over _Ten-Thousand_ Oompa-Loompas in Oompa-Land. Charlie and Willy are going to have a very interesting time to try and finish the task. Charlie is going to witness Loompaish in the process, and Willy is going to have a very interesting thing happen to him. Well, it is the Chocolate Factory, and these things do happen.

* * *

**Chapter 15 - Fright Before the Flight**

Willy pushed open the door of "Oompa-Land" with apprehension. In the back of his mind he remembered that Charlie was there, so it wouldn't be too bad. At least, he dearly hoped. But one thing was for sure: this would be the last thing he would do that day. The very _last_ thing. The past days seemed to have taught him that, with the current events going on and with everything as stressful as it was, trying to do more was a bad thing. He could end up hurt, or worse, _Charlie _could end up hurt, and that would not be a very good thing at all. He knew that talking to Oompa-Loompas in a perfectly safe "Oompa-Land" wouldn't end up with Willy or Charlie missing any limbs or suffering any internal injuries, but… you never know, stranger things have happened in that factory.

The door Willy opened revealed a huge room. In fact, the room was so large that Charlie swore it had to be bigger than the Chocolate Waterfall's room by around ten or twenty times. This was when Charlie really started to get a mental picture of how big the Factory really _was_. And this factory was _big_.

Giant trees towered up above Wonka and Charlie, seeming to reach up towards a very high ceiling. At first, Charlie was sure that they entered another part of the world, rather than another part of the factory, and he was surprised that Willy had the time and patience to get this built for the Oompa-Loompas. Between the giant tropical trees were large coconut-shaped buildings. They were all rather large and only Wonka knew at that moment that they were _much_ bigger than their miniature ones back in Loompa-Land.

As they walked forward in the misty jungle room, Charlie saw out of the corner of his eye Willy Wonka twitch as the door closed behind them automatically. Following that, Charlie heard a quick, sharp breath of relief, as if Willy was trying to bring his nerves down along with his calmness. Charlie frowned momentarily, but didn't look back at Wonka. He thought that at that very moment, the last thing Willy needed was somebody staring back at him. _Especially_ when he was about to face a couple hundred Oompa-Loompas.

At first, Charlie was rather confused why Willy had to talk to all of the Oompa-Loompas in person. He wondered why couldn't he just talk to them through the building's internal speakers. Willy seemed to use them every so often to call upon certain Oompa-Loompas, or sometimes Charlie. Why couldn't he use it now? Willy had explained that he only called upon specific Oompa-Loompas using the system, and only a select few had learned English.

_"You see Charlie," Willy had explained, "I am the only known person in the -world- that knows Loompaish. So only -I- can explain to them, in their language, what is going to happen. That is the only way I can efficiently tell them all, before we leave on the Twenty-Second."_

Charlie had to admit; he couldn't wait to see Willy talk to the Oompa-Loompa's in Loompaish. He had seen Wonka do a strange ringing call, and that was about it. It seemed that Loompaish was a very interesting language to speak indeed. Charlie made a mental note to ask Willy to teach him how to speak the Oompa-Loompa's verbal and physical language. But that had to wait for later.

They started to pass various Oompa-Loompas coming in and out of their homes, descending down ladders, crossing bridges, or walking across the lightly misted ground. It seemed that none of them noticed or acknowledged either Charlie's or Willy's presence. It seemed that they were all busy, doing whatever they seemed to be doing, and taking no notice of either of the Chocolatiers. Not that Willy minded it at all.

Charlie realized that all of the Oompa-Loompas looked almost exactly the same. There _were_ differences though, and he had only recently had begun to pick them up between the Oompa-Loompas. Like, the way they did their hair back, how tall they were, or how they reacted to Charlie himself; even then, Charlie still had great difficulty telling the Oompa-Loompas from one another. What was really strange, though, was that Willy could pick out them like they were as different as apples and oranges, and he also seemed to talk about them as if they _were_ as different as apples and oranges, and Willy was thoroughly confused when Charlie had much difficulty trying to tell one from another.

It was the first time, though, that Charlie had seen an Oompa-Loompa child. The full-grown Oompa-Loompas reached to about Willy's knees, but the children where _tiny_ and rather adorable. They reached up to even less than that. As they walked Charlie saw a Oompa-Loompa child stop and gape at Willy and Charlie, which afterwards ran to her mother, making wild gestures points at Willy and Charlie, looking thoroughly concerned with the fact that Wonka himself was eight times bigger than she was. Her mother reassured her with a grin, patting her side. Charlie chuckled; she was an awfully cute little girl.

Charlie decided to look up at Wonka, just to see how he was doing, and he found that Wonka's expression had changed. It was now that strange grin that he had when he was on the boat-ride with all of the prospective heirs; that look of childishness and mischievousness, a look a little boy has when he is showing somebody something fantastic, and he knows exactly what is going to happen next. For once, he didn't see to be perturbed about talking to a couple hundred Oompa-Loompa's at once. But Charlie was sure that was going to change.

Willy and Charlie continued to walk along the ground of the tiny pseudo-jungle. Then Wonka stopped without warning, as he always did, and looked up towards a towering tree. Charlie stopped and looked up as well. He could see, as he turned his gaze and scanned the boughs and the bridges connecting them, that there was a rather large coconut-shaped house. It looked much more impressive than the others; it was dressed up with large designs and almost every square inch of it had something trying to make it look better than it was. Leading up to the important-looking house was a gradually sloping ramp built securely out of wooden rungs.

"This, Charlie," said Wonka, "is where the Oompa-Loompa chief lives. You see, if I want to call a meeting, I just ask the chief to call all of the Oompa-Loompas here at once. So that way, I can talk to them more easily. You see?"

Charlie nodded and said nothing. He thought it would be better if he said nothing, and just let Willy go on. It might calm Wonka's toiling nerves.

Willy cleared his throat after an unnerving moment of silence. "Well," he said with the biggest, fakest grin he could muster plastered on his face. "Here's the great, big, nasty moment of truth..." Willy took a step forward and lifted up his cane with his left hand, pointing to the home with it. "Onward!"

Willy did just so, he marched onward towards the house with a certain amount of determination plastered on his face. Charlie followed behind idly, being careful of the high ascent up the delicate wooden rungs. Wonka felt that if he rushed the whole experience, it wouldn't bother him as much as if could have... just maybe, he _could_ handle a large crowd of Oompa-Loompas.

Willy hit the door of the Chief's house with the spiral-coloured end of his cane, rapping on it heavily, announcing his presence to whomever was inside. He stood back once he did so, leaning on his cane and clutching the head of it nervously.

The door swung open, and Charlie could feel the nervousness rise up the Chocolatier from head to foot. The expression also changed from the look of determination to a painful, forced smile. Charlie looked down at the small Oompa-Loompa that opened the door for Willy and Charlie and saw the small thing waving both Charlie and Wonka to come inside.

Wonka nodded with a nervous giggle and he walked in with Charlie, giving the small boy a glance and a short nod before turning his head to the task-at-hand: the chief Oompa-Loompa and the long-expected talk with the thousands of Oompa-Loompas that ran the factory. Well, Charlie knew first things first, to talk to the Chieftain, and he figured that it was one of the factors that was making Wonka so nervous. He knew if he had to talk to the Prime Minister... or President, that _he'd_ feel a little nervous.

They walked down a narrow hall that opened to a medium-sized round room. On one end was who Charlie believed to be head Oompa-Loompa. He was dressed in complete formal tribal wear, and he was holding the smug look that only chieftains could accomplish on their proud faces. Willy gave a curt nod to the Oompa-Loompa that lead them and he turned to face the chief Oompa-Loompa on his throne of sorts.

Wonka walked up to the middle of the room. Charlie stayed standing by the entryway, as Willy instructed, and Wonka sat down cross-legged on the floor in front of the Chieftain's throne. Now Charlie understood exactly what was making Willy nervous; it wasn't the meeting with the Chieftain, it must have been the prospect of talking to all of those Oompa-Loompas _afterwards_. Now that Wonka had something to pull his mind away from the task after this one, he didn't seem so worried. He looked confident and calm again.

The conversation began with much silence, and Charlie could not even guess at what they were saying.

Of course, Willy understood perfectly. It was all well and good to be fluent in _many_ different languages; he ought be fluent in one of the most important.

Willy started with a brief gesture, -Greetings,- he placed a hand on his chest, -my friend and I,- he pointed with his thumb at Charlie in the entryway and then back to himself, -would like to speak with you,- Willy finished that off with a _jabbering_ motion with his hand, and he pointed at the Oompa-Loompa with a bow neatly tied in the end.

Charlie watched with fascination. Wonka did… whatever he said, so quickly that Charlie had little time to actually translate was he was saying. He decided that maybe he shouldn't _try_ and translate, he should just watch...

-Yes. What would you like?- The Chieftain returned with his own gestures and light, barely-audible, noises.

-You see, my heir and I...- Willy started, but was soon interrupted by the Chieftain.

-That boy? The one standing by the doorway? Is he the heir you finally chose to take up your throne?-

Willy laughed. -Yes, he is. He is a very good boy. You will like him when I'm finally gone.-

The Chieftain frowned. -I believe you, but don't think that way. You are many years young. We can never think of you disappearing to old age.-

Willy's grin flickered. -Never mind about that right now.- His gestures started to be a little sharper, indicating to the Chieftain that Wonka didn't really want to talk about that particular subject. -I need to talk about something more urgent.-

Charlie looked at them with light confusion. He was sure that they mentioned him. He was positive about it, and whatever they had said must of make Wonka upset, or nervous. From where Charlie was standing, Willy looked the ever slightest bit distressed.

-Yes, what is it?-

-My heir and I are going to be leaving the factory.- Willy slowed down, making sure the Chieftain understood what he was saying.

-Why?-

-Well, something happened. A big something, I had supposed you had heard about it.-

-I have. You received injures. That is why you are speaking with such a strange accent.- the Oompa-Loompa gestured to Willy's right arm, which was slung, cast and out of use. -Do you require to see a healer?-

-Oh, no, great chieftain, I don't. I already have. You see, there were people around me and I... fainted. They all thought that this factory was what caused me to be so weird. They think it's dangerous, and they want him to leave,- Willy pointed back to Charlie. -They think it is not safe enough for little heirs.-

-I see,- the Chieftain nodded intellectually. -I understand; you wish to talk to the human chieftain to explain that your home is safe for the boy. You also wish for us to watch over the factory while you and the young boy are gone?-

Willy grinned. -Yes. Exactly right.- He paused. -I also am wondering if you can keep an eye out for his family. You see, they are very dear to him, and he respects them greatly. If anything were to happen to them, I don't know what I or the boy would do.-

-A boy who respects his elders. The others have brought great stories of how he treats them so kindly. I will, of course, see to it that they are perfectly safe while you are gone.- The chieftain smiled. -How long will you be staying in the human child's land?-

-Two weeks or more. I am not too sure.-

-If you figure out your time away from this home, send word as soon as you can.-

-I will. Be sure of it,- Willy returned with a smile.

The Chieftain looked over the room for a moment, a thought running through his mind. -I think,- he turned and looked at Willy again, -that you came to me to not only tell me of what is to happen very soon. Am I right?-

-Yes...- Charlie could even read, from whatever Willy responded, the sound of dread in his return gesture.

The Chieftain grinned. -You wish to speak to the whole tribe. To inform them of their jobs, am I correct?-

Willy flinched ever so slightly. -Yes. That is what I need to do.-

The Chieftain smiled. -I see, I will call them all. I believe that you will be able to explain everything to the tribe?-

Willy returned with a flickering smile, -Yes... Don't worry. I will get the young boy to help me.-

-Good.- The Chieftain turned around and called over another Oompa-Loompa. -Please gather all of the Tribe, and gather them in the back field. They must be here soon. Quickly now.-

The Oompa-Loompa crossed his arms in understanding and bowed, the Chieftain returned the favor before turning to Willy. -You and the boy can wait at the back of this home. You know that the large field resides behind it. You'll find that you'll be able to talk to almost _every_ Tribesman there.-

-Thank you,- Willy responded back, -I will be sure to inform them all correctly.-

He sat there for a moment, until the Chieftain decided to wave him off. Wonka breathed out. Now he was out of the cookie tin and into the confectionery oven. Willy walked past Charlie, placing his hand on Charlie's back, leading him out of the room.

"Charlie, I have finished taking to the Chieftain and he said that he will call in all of the Oompa-Loompas for us to talk to. Now, I need _you_ do something, my dear Charlie," Wonka said, hand still on Charlie's back, leading him down another hallway in the large hut.

"What do you want me to do Mr. Wonka?"

"I need _you_ to speak English to all of the Oompa-Loompas," Willy explained simply.

Charlie looked at Wonka, confused, and said, "English, Mr. Wonka?"

"Yeah, English. You see, usually I have to repeat my speeches to the Oompa-Loompas _twice_. You see, a lot of my Oompa-Loompas speak English and they prefer to speak it and the others speak Loompaish. So, I can speak Loompaish to the Oompa-Loompas and you can speak English, at the same time."

"Oh, I see," Charlie said with a grin, looking up at Willy. "So it will take less time?"

"Yeah. So it will take less time," Wonka responded, swallowing hard.

-------------------------

Willy and Charlie were speaking in front of the _entire_ work force of the factory. Where they were standing, they over-looked a large field and could see every single one of their faces. The crowd gathered there was astonishing. The sea of Oompa-Loompas varied in hundreds of colours and hues; all standing by their respective crewmates.

Of what Charlie saw, he could see in the far back the group of Oompa-Loompas that tended the Squirrels in the Nut Room, and near the middle were the orange-clad Oompa-Loompas of the Dreaming Room. At that exact moment, Charlie and Wonka were taking a break from giving out the orders to the various Oompa-Loompas. Willy was sitting on a chair, coat off, hat off, leaning back as far as he could, hands covering his face. Charlie was leaning against the rail, looking down at the sea of Oompa-Loompas.

They had been talking for half an hour. Well, Charlie had been. Wonka had been _gesturing_ and _clicking_ for half an hour. The only reason that Charlie knew what Wonka was saying, and what he was to say himself, was that Willy had prepared what Charlie was going to say ahead of time, so all Charlie had to do was read.

Charlie turned around and looked at Willy. He didn't look terribly well at all. During the first part of the speech, Willy started to fumble his words, or rather, his movements. But whatever Wonka was doing, he was starting to get worse and worse as the speech went on. Charlie supposed that was why he called on a break even though they were nearly done with the speech. Willy really needed a moment or more to calm down and regather his nerves.

Charlie decided to see if Wonka was all right. He had been sitting in that particular position for the past several minutes and Charlie, along with the Oompa-Loompas, was growing restless. Charlie approved Willy and stood beside the motionless figure of the Chocolatier.

Beads of sweat were clinging to the side of Willy's cheek and of what he could see of his face, he was slightly paler than usual.

Charlie put a hand on Willy's shoulder and said, "Mr. Wonka. Are you okay?"

Wonka made a strange muffled noise through his hand then said, "Yeah. Why do you ask, Charlie?"

"It's just, you asked for a break so quickly and you haven't said or done anything at all since then. I'm just worried. That's all," Charlie said, removing his hand from Wonka's shoulder.

"I'm fine, Charlie," Willy said, his eyes still covered by the back of his hand. Charlie could hear the blatant annoyance flooding his voice. "Really. I am."

"Well, then; why don't we continue with the speech?" Charlie asked.

Charlie visibly saw Wonka turn several shades paler at the comment. Willy responded slowly, "No... not yet."

"Are you sure you are all right?" Charlie asked again.

"Yes," Willy said, lying to the small boy. He felt his stomach twist with guilt as he did so. He knew that he really shouldn't lie to Charlie; he knew he really should tell Charlie the truth. But, how could he? He really didn't want Charlie to _worry_ about him. _It's not like he doesn't do that anyway_, he thought to himself. _Charlie always seems to be worrying about me, no matter what I do._

That was a concept that confused and frustrated Willy Wonka. He still couldn't grasp the reason _why_ Charlie cared and worried so much. It just didn't make sense. They had only known each other for a couple of months, and Charlie was already showing that he cared for Wonka as if he had been his friend for years. Willy knew that he cared for Charlie, but he understood _why_. He felt like a brother to Charlie and that was how he was to treat Charlie, as a brother. But he didn't understand why Charlie seemed to be returning the feelings _back_.

_Charlie -can't- feel the same way I feel about him. It's just impossible. Nobody thinks of me as a brother! Whizzing Whangdoodles, I'm not even related to Charlie! _Willy knew that he just contradicted himself. He wasn't related to Charlie; yet, he still saw him as a little brother. Wonka just didn't want to grasp the fact that maybe the feelings were also being reflected back in the same manner.

Wonka stopped his thoughts, not wanted to stress himself out any more than he already was. He took his hand off of his forehead and looked at Charlie directly in the eyes. After a moment, he turned his gaze away. Oh yes, Charlie was starting to get _his_ purple eyes. Another strange thing that Willy just couldn't understand about that boy. Wonka glanced back again; they weren't purple yet, but were on the verge of changing dramatically. Only a ring of deep purple surrounded the boy's pupil. That was one thing to inquire about in Charlie's family. Maybe it was genetic. Whether it was genetic or not, Willy still thought of it as an odd, strange, and creepy, coincidence.

Willy saw Charlie's eyebrows were furrowed with mild concentration and thinking, as if the small boy was trying to read the Chocolatier's mind and find the truth behind what he had said. Wonka's stomach twisted again, there was no truth behind what he had said. The truth was, Willy was _not_ all right, whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. In all respects, Willy was a wreck at that moment, and he was doing a heck of a good job covering it all up from the small lad. Well, not a _terrific_ job, but good enough for Wonka to know that Charlie really didn't see how deep his "not all right" was.

Charlie sighed after a moment of concentration and he glanced up before turning back to Wonka. "Well. I suppose if you say you are, you are. But we have to finish that speech. All of the Oompa-Loompas are getting restless with waiting; they need to tend to their jobs, and this speech is holding them up."

Willy sighed; yet again, Charlie was right. Wonka straightened himself up on the chair and looked at Charlie directly for a moment. _Gosh, he is almost always right, _he thought. _Sometimes... that just scares me._

Wonka placed on a genuine-looking grin. "Right as ever, Charlie. We have to get cracking and let those Oompa-Loompas keep on truckin'!" Charlie chuckled at Wonka's comment.

Willy got up off the chair and lifted his left arm in a stretch. Wonka looked down at his slung right arm and sighed. "Y'know Charlie, I can't wait to get this gosh-darned cast off of my arm. I can't use this worth an inch!"

"Don't worry, Mr. Wonka. It will probably be taken off in less than three weeks, from what the doctor said."

"Ah well..." Wonka sighed. He then walked over to the edge of the over-looking balcony and to the Oompa-Loompas. "Let's just get this thing over-with... kay?"

-------------------------

Willy groaned, eyes closed. His head hurt tremendously, he was too cold for comfort and he was feeling slightly sick to the stomach. Wonka was, on top of all that, very confused. He could not grasp why he was lying down, in pain, and with his eyes closed. He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead. He felt like he had a hangover. Although, he had never actually _had_ a hangover, gotten drunk, or had drunken any form of alcohol in his life. So he could rule that out.

His memory was fuzzy, but as his mind started to churn feebly, he remembered the speech with all the Oompa-Loompas, _and_ the dramatic ending.

_It was amazing, the first twenty minutes of the speech lasted without Wonka feeling not horrible in the least about the Oompa-Loompas staring at him. Both he and Charlie saw it as a miracle that Willy didn't seem to be as affected as they thought, and Wonka actually grew more confident as the speech went on. Wonka and Charlie supposed that Wonka's bravery was based on the fact that they were Oompa-Loompas and not humans._

_However, the smoothness of the speech didn't last as long as Wonka dearly wished and hoped it would. After half an hour or so, he started to have that sickening feeling that he got around crowds and Willy felt as if he was going to faint. So he called a harsh, abrupt, break. Wonka knew that he had only been minutes from the end of the speech, but he knew that he couldn't handle the rest right away._

_Once he decided to continue after a small break, he felt an inner twitching feeling that it was much too soon, that he should have waited it out longer than several minutes to recover from the first half an hour of the speech. But on he went, determined to show that foreboding feeling that nothing wrong was going to happen. _

_But, oh, Willy Wonka, the infamous Chocolatier… he should have learned long ago to -never- underestimate his instincts and feelings._

_Near the end of the speech, he started to feel dizzy and strange again._

_At first, Willy thought it was just a funny dizzy feeling that one had when you sat up much too quickly. Then it started to creep over his vision in a strange way blocking it out with the strange blobs of colour in an impeding background of black. But even though his vision was being taken away, Willy refused to be startled by the whole matter. He -had- to finish his speech, no matter what._

_He fought his way through the last symbols, knowing he was swaying, feeling his way around them. Then, once the last symbol echoing "Thank you," to the Oompa-Loompas was sent, he felt himself crumple to the ground and blackness consumed him._

Willy groaned once he recalled what happened. What did Charlie think of the whole matter? Well, he knew for sure that Charlie must have panicked when he fell. But exactly what happened when he fainted, and how long ago had it been?

Wonka opened his eyes reluctantly and found that he was not gazing up at the ceiling of Oompa-Land... but the ceiling of his... bedroom? Now, how in the one hundred levels of his factory did he get there? Willy looked across the room and towards his violet-lit digital clock. It read 12:00am. Willy sighed, semi-relieved, and laid back down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. It was only twelve midnight._ Hey wait..._

_Twelve o'clock?_

Willy sat up like a bullet and stared at the clock again with mild disbelief. _Wait... it couldn't be... it was only... I am -sure- that it was only Five o'clock! My clock... it must be wrong. Yeah. Wrong. That means I have to get it fixed... yes. _Willy lay back down. _It is probably only six o'clock... a good, reasonable, time._

A knock on the door sent Wonka into his sitting up position once again, staring at the door, waiting for whomever it was to come in.

"Mr. Wonka?" he heard from behind the door. "Mr. Wonka, are you awake? I brought a midnight snack for you. Mum thought you'd be hungry."

It must be Charlie. _Wait... -Midnight- snack?_ It _must_ have been late...

"Co-" he cleared his throat. "Come in, Charlie!"

The pastel-plum-red door swung open, and the lights flicked on. Charlie was there, holding a tray in one hand, and Willy's ring of keys in the other. Charlie grinned when he saw Wonka, closed the door behind him and walked quickly over to Wonka's bedside. It was astonishing that Charlie didn't spill the drink... or the soup for that matter.

"Hey... Woah!" Wonka said, looking at the large bowl of soup that was on the tray. "I thought you said midnight _snack_, this qualifies as a _meal _in my books!"

Charlie chuckled lightly. "Well, Mum said that you might be hungry. She guessed you didn't have lunch and she _knows_ you didn't have supper. So, she got me to bring up some of her famous more-than-just-cabbage soup for you."

Charlie placed the tray on Willy's lap, making sure that nothing spilled. "I suggest you eat it up," Charlie said. "I don't know what Mum'll do to you if you don't."

"What?" Willy asked with a cute, fake, look of fear.

"She might just put a bib on you and feed you herself," said Charlie with a chuckle behind it.

"I expected as much," Willy said before taking up the spoon, and took a mouthful of soup.

"So, are you feeling any better Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked.

Willy swallowed, ah, he expected Charlie to ask that. "Yeah. As fit as a fiddle. In fact, I feel better than a violin!"

Another chuckle, "Good. Mum was worried, you know. I was too. You just suddenly collapsed after the speech. The Oompa-Loompas didn't seem too worried themselves, though. They just organized themselves; some leaving, and others remaining. The ones that remained picked you up and carried you here, then, they fetched my Mum and Dad."

"Wow." The Oompa-Loompas never ceased to amaze Willy with the large amount of silent organization that they seemed to have. Like a hive of bees... or a hill of ants.

"Yeah. Mum said that you _have_ to keep yourself rested for the next week, until the flight. She says that she won't let you overexert yourself again," Charlie said as Willy took another large mouthful of soup.

"Well. That keeps the rest of this week pretty event-free now doesn't it," Willy said knowledgeably after he swallowed another spoonful of soup.

"You deserve it, Mr. Wonka. Especially with what is going to happen on the twenty-second."

Wonka groaned. "Don't remind me. The less I think about it, the better I'll feel."

"Well, we'll have to face it sooner or later Mr. Wonka."

Wonka scoffed, but said nothing, taking another spoonful of the delicious soup. He knew that no matter how uneventful the next week was going to be... the _two weeks_ or more after that were going to make up for more than just one week of silence.

In fact, Willy knew that the airplane trip alone was going to make up for it.

All Wonka could do know was wait. As much as he didn't want to.

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– This Chapter is _much_ more intersting than the last. And let me tell you _much_ more interesting to type too. Well, I hope you'll enjoy this mroe than the last Chapter. Personally, my favorite line(s) in this Chapter is: "He felt like he had a hangover. Although, he had never actually _had_ a hangover, gotten drunk, or had drunken any form of alcohol in his life. So he could rule that out," and "He was out of the cookie tin and into the confectionary oven." Well, I think thats what they were...

**Wonka-Land Info **– I allways seem to have _somthing_ to type here, eh?

Oompa-Land – It is bigger and better than Charlie really realises. But, only Willy really knew that. Bigger homes, warmer, just perfect for the florishing Oompa-Loompa population.

Loompaish Accents - I supposed that you could talk with an accent in Loompaish. So, I thought that Willy's lack of a usuable right arm at that moment would make him talk funny or in a "accent" to the Loompas. Just a touch of detail to add to the story.

Eh? - I am Canadian you know.

The Speech? - What was exactly said? I know what they said generally, and the speech may be recounted for later use in later chapters in the form of a flashback. It mainly said what the Oompa-Loompas needed to do, and how to orgainise themselves when having to face all the troubles that Willy faces himself. And belive me, Wonka handles a lot more than most people realizes.

**Chapter Sixteen Preview **– A week of doing calm work and resting. Now, Wonka and Charlie are scrambling to get their bags packed for over two-weeks in one the most famous cities in the world; New York. Charlie and Wonka make a interesting trip to the airport, on the plane. It just shows that interesting things follow Wonka outside of the factory. How will the two _ever_ survive?

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour la reviews ma amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– Where would I be without Cadenza Cavatina? (previously Quill in hand). I thank her so much! -gives you candy-

**Important Note**: Please Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	16. Up, Up and Away

((**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

This current chapter is late due to Beta-waiting. But, I am updating it never-the-less. A fully edited version will be posted on Monday. I hope. Oh, I am going to get the DVD soon, and I won the School's costume contest for the best costume. Guess what? I was Willy Wonka!

Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**EDIT: **This is the Beta'd version of my fic. So, I finally have it up. Plus, I'm going to be getting the special edition double-disk Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Movie today! Yay! dances

**Chapter Sixteen Summery** – Now, Willy and Charlie are definatally out of the Cookie Tin and into the Confectionary oven, they are getting ready to go on the plane. And, what's this, Willy hasn't packed yet, and they only have a half an hour untill they catch the Limo to the plane? What _are_ they going to do?

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Up, Up and Away**

Willy rushed into his bedroom holding a rather large suitcase while trying to balance a second one on top of it. Upon arrival, Wonka dropped both suitcases on the bed, and each opened up to reveal rather empty insides. Willy knew that it would come to this, he just knew it. But he thought that if he avoided it long enough, the whole matter in question would disappear satisfyingly. Unfortunately for him, it didn't, and Wonka was stuck in a rather sticky predicament.

He had forgotten to pack. It was the late hours of the night, and Willy and Charlie had a plane to catch in four hours (around two o'clock in the morning), and Wonka hadn't even packed. He had at least a half an hour to pack, leave the factory, and get in the limo that was booked for Charlie and himself.

Both he and Charlie, since the plane flight was so early in the morning, had gone to bed very early to catch up on the rest that they would be missing. So, at ten o'clock at night, Willy and Charlie had a full good-night's rest, raring to get on that plane; well, Charlie was at least.

But even though a _week_ beforehand Wonka had known what was going to happen, he still hadn't packed. So there he was, in the middle of the night, dashing around the room trying to get things pulled together.

You'd _think_ after a week of Mrs. Bucket's constant reminders, that Willy would have at least packed _one _suitcase...

"What-do-I-need? What-do-I-need?" Wonka said hurryingly, looking around the room fervently, trying to see what he needed for the trip.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, dashing over to his dresser, "I need shirts, pants, vests, gloves... the whole lot!"

He shuffled around the drawer, tossing over his shoulder and onto the bed various articles of clothing. Basically, everything he thought he needed for a two week stay in New York.

And Charlie? Well, he was in Wonka's living room, humming to himself as he made sure that he had everything he needed for the trip. Cross-legged on the floor, Charlie was ticking off various things from the checklist, while looking through his small suitcase.

"-And last but not least, my notebook and pencil," he said, grinning, as he slipped the notebook that contained the checklist, into his back pocket along with his pencil. "Well, that's done. I guess we can go once Mr. Wonka has grabbed his bags from his room," he spoke aloud to himself.

Charlie leant back, and looked down the starch-white hall towards Wonka's bedroom, past the slightly open door. "Nearly done, Mr. Wonka? We have to go soon. We need to catch the car to the airport."

"Just a minute Charlie!" came the ringing call of Wonka, from inside the room.

A thump.

A yelp. "Fudged Fiddlesticks!"

_What was that? _Charlie looked at the room with light confusion and got up. _What could Mr. Wonka be up to? _Charlie thought. _He can't be packing. We have to be ready for the limo that's arriving in several minutes..._

Charlie made his way to Wonka's door, and peeked around the corner. "Mr. Wonka?"

Willy was dancing around on the spot waving his left hand around. It seemed as though Wonka had just slammed it in the drawer of his dresser.

"Ow, ow, ow," Willy muttered under his breath while stopping the shaking of his hand. He turned to Charlie, "Oh... hello Charlie."

Charlie looked at Willy's hand with mild concern. "Mr. Wonka, are you-"

Wonka cut him off quickly with a nervous giggle, "I'm fine, Charlie, I just slammed my hand in the drawer. Just a few seconds of pain... that's all." He held up his gloved hand. "See? Better already."

"Good." Charlie grinned for a moment then looked around, seeing that Willy had tons of clothes strewn out on the bed and both suitcases were empty. "What's going on?"

"I- er... uh..." Wonka said nervously, looking around the room, with his hand in his pocket. Charlie could swear he heard Willy whistle innocently.

Then, Charlie realized why Wonka was looking in his drawers in the first place. "You haven't packed yet, have you?" Charlie said while approaching Willy.

Willy put up his finger and breathed in, as if he was going to say something like: 'Yes Charlie, I have... just ignore the fact that I have un-packed suitcases and clothes strewn everywhere...' But, the lame excuse never came; Wonka lowered his finger, looked down and said with a notion of defeat, "No."

Charlie sighed deeply, "Mr. Wonka..."

"I'm sorry," he said in quick defense, looking up with a guilty grin on his face. "I guess I didn't plan well enough."

"It's all right, I guess. Look, we have half an hour to get all of your things packed. Here, I'll help you pack up all of your clothes, and you get everything else you need. Okay Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, looking up at Willy with a cute smile.

Wonka's heart softened. Charlie was such a nice boy. He was sure, that if it were any other boy, they would have left Willy to his own problems... alone. But Charlie? No. Charlie wouldn't even stop helping Willy even if Wonka _asked_ him to. Which he had. Numerous times. But, he had to admit, when Charlie was around to help him out, things got finished much faster.

There was that strange twist of confusion again as Willy saw Charlie hop up onto Wonka's high bed and start to fold up the messy pants, vests and shirts; he had that same strange question in his mind: _Why does Charlie do this for me? _That was probably one of the reasons Willy knew that Charlie was different from other boys, it was Charlie's instant trying to help Wonka whenever Willy needed help, verbally or nonverbally; Charlie's constant trying to make sure things were all right...

But _why_? It just made no gosh-darned sense...

A "Mr. Wonka," from Charlie broke Wonka's thoughts.

Willy looked up, "Uh, yeah?"

"We've got to hurry up," Charlie said.

Willy looked around and remembered the deadline that he had to fill in the half-hour. He jumped and suddenly dashed out of the room, only stopping for a moment to say to Charlie, "Good idea!"

--------------------------

Wonka hauled the last of the suitcases near the outside gates of the factory, in a small way to prove to everyone that even with a broken arm, he could handle the task. The air was still frigid for late April, but that was usual for the town that the Factory resided in. There was always a feeling of cold or snow in the air, even though it was spring. At least, in the summer, it would warm up, and snow would become a rarity once again.

It was dismally dark and the only glint of light came from the glimmer off the tightly compacted, like ice, snow on the ground and the large lights that lit up the front courtyard of the massive factory. Even then, Wonka wore his large goggle-like sunglasses.

"Willy, dear," said Mrs. Bucket as she approached Willy, a paper bag in one hand, "why are you wearing sunglasses? It's ten thirty at night!"

"I dunno, I just like to wear them..." Willy responded with his grin, as he turned to count all of the luggage.

Wonka knew _exactly _why he wore his sunglasses, no matter what time of day it was. He always did, even before he opened his first shop on Cherry Street, no matter what, Willy always wore them, even at night. At first, it was because of the snow and sun. There was either such an abundance of sun that you needed glasses, or there was so much snow _reflecting_ the sun that it would be dangerous not to. So, nearly all year long during the day, Wonka wore sunglasses.

But soon, once his popularity sprang up from a couple of friends to more than ten strangers, he wore them as a sort of a security device. He felt that they seemed to cover up who he was, and make the world none-the-wiser of the fact that it was Willy. He _hated_ crowds, and he felt, that if he covered his face up, even a teensy bit, that maybe they wouldn't know or recognize who he was.

"I hope you took no offence, Willy," Mrs. Bucket said sincerely. "I was just curious."

"None taken! I suppose it does look _weird_. I _am_ wearing sunglasses at night." Willy giggled cheerfully at the thought. "Seven! All seven of the suitcases are there."

Mrs. Bucket nodded and looked at the seven suitcases on the ground, counting them mentally, noting that only two happened to be Charlie's. "That's good."

"Why don't you go talk to Charlie while I open the gates, kay?" Wonka said with a smile.

"All right, Willy dear," Mrs. Bucket said with a smile before walking off towards Charlie.

Wonka watched her walk away with a strange forced smile on his face till he turned around abruptly, face falling, to open the gates.

Talking with Charlie by the edge of the factory gates as Willy opened them were Mr. and Mrs. Bucket and Grandpa Joe, all of whom were currently keeping Charlie close company, until he had to part for the next two or more weeks.

"Make sure you don't have mud on your pants," Grandpa Joe advised. "You'll make a better impression on TV that way."

"Yes, Charlie dear, and keep out of trouble," added Mrs. Bucket.

"-and try to not bother Mr. Wonka too much. All right, Charlie?" finished Mr. Bucket with a smile and a reassuring hand against Charlie's shoulder.

"Yes Mum, yes Dad, yes Grandpa Joe," Charlie said obediently, with an ever-so-slight shiver in the cold; never the less, Charlie gave a great grin.

"That's a good lad."

"Thank you, Charlie dear."

"Always doing the right thing."

Wonka called out from the distance; holding his left hand to amplify his voice, obviously done opening the gates. "Charlie! We must get going, the limo has arrived!"

Charlie gave a grin, then a sigh. He grabbed onto his mother's waist and gave her a great big hug. "Bye Mum. I'll miss you."

"Bye, Charlie dearest," she hugged him back and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll miss you too. But I bet you'll have lots of fun with Mr. Wonka in New York. Just focus on having fun and not on missing us."

"I promise," Charlie said with a grin towards his mother.

"Come here, Charlie," Grandpa Joe said, opening his arms so the small boy could hug him.

Charlie obliged and was pulled into a hug by his grandfather. "I'll miss you, but you have fun, eh? I bet you will!"

"Bye Grandpa Joe, I'll miss you too," Charlie said around the hug. As he pulled away, he added, "Tell Grandma Georgina, Grandpa George, and Grandma Josephine that I say bye, okay?"

"You can count on me!" Grandpa Joe finished with a silly salute and a warm grin.

"Bye Dad," Charlie said as he hugged his father. "I will miss you."

"Good bye Charlie. Have fun, and be sure that when you come back, you have plenty of stories to tell."

Charlie pulled away and smiled. "Don't worry, I will."

"That's my Charlie," Mr. Bucket said fondly, ruffling up Charlie's hair.

Grandpa Joe looked over. "I think you have to go, you don't want to keep Mr. Wonka waiting!"

Charlie was just about to turn and leave when his mother stopped him, and put the paper bag she was holding in his hand. "Here, Charlie," she said with a whisper in his ear. "These are some treats I made for you and Willy. It's for the trip there. It's best you eat them when you get hungry. Okay?"

A wide grin spread over Charlie's face. "Thanks, Mum! Bye!"

"Bye Dear!"

"Bye Charlie!"

"Goodbye!"

Charlie dashed up and saw the gate was opened and all of the suitcases but two were in the trunk of the limo. He grabbed his small suitcase and looked up at Willy expectantly.

Wonka smiled back and grabbed his own suitcase of knickknacks. "Well, ready to go?"

Charlie nodded numbly and they walked just outside the gates, stopping a mere ten yards away from the limo. Both of them continued to look away from the gates as they screeched shut behind them, and closed with an echoing metallic thud that seemed to ring out around the massive walls of the factory ominously.

Wonka breathed out heavily, a thick mist of icy breath formed in front of him. "Well," he said after a few seconds, "let's go."

--------------------------

They had been in the limo for nearly two and a half hours, and even though they were fully rested, Wonka and Charlie were already starting to feel slightly sleepy due to the long traveling and sitting session. Though during the whole of the trip, Wonka and Charlie had been talking animatedly about various candy ideas and things that are in the factory.

"So... there is a rubber forest in my factory," said Wonka in a matter-o-fact tone.

Charlie looked at him dumbfounded. "A rubber forest?"

"Yea, it's kind of like the Chocolate room, though _much_ smaller. The whole thing is made of various gummy treats; all of the trees even! And, for more tropical flavors, I have a connecting room that is called the elastic jungle."

And that was basically how the conversation continued for the hours that passed by.

Charlie had realized why Willy decided to pick a limo to travel in, rather than a taxi. At first, he thought it was typical for a person as _rich _as Wonka to rent a limo to get rides in. But once they entered it, was obvious _why _Willy had chosen it. It was not because Willy was rich; it was not because he thought so high of himself that he deserved a fancy limo. It was because of the great amount of personal privacy. Charlie realized that you could cut off the driver with a window so he couldn't see or hear you, and the only time he could talk was when he talked over the radio, and the only time he _would_ talk was when he was accounting when an hour had passed, or when they would have arrived.

At that exact moment, both Charlie and Wonka were silent. Each of them leaning against the side of limo, faces lightly pressed against the window. Charlie was watching the fields pass by in the complete darkness, being lit only by the high beams of the limo lights. Without them, Charlie would have been staring into a seemingly nothingness.

His mind was toiling about the week before the last, and even the one he just experienced. So much had happened, and most of them were not good things. Charlie was truthfully getting very worried about his new companion, and he had no idea of what he could do for him. His mind kept of flicking back to when Willy broke his arm, when Wonka had a flash fever, when he experienced a horrific nightmare about leaving a factory, when Willy had the hysterical flash-back breakdown, and even when Wonka was _trying_ to do something good, but rendered himself unconscious do to the pressure of too many Oompa-Loompa's.

He was trying to find a pattern; he was _trying_ to figure out what was making everything happen. He was starting to dearly hope that not every week of his life in the factory would be as exciting as that one. At least, not exciting in a bad way.

Not that everything that happened was bad. No, in fact, many things that had happened were good... mostly they were gifts to himself by Willy Wonka. The un-expected late birthday presents of a pocket watch and a complete new wardrobe. Willy specially making him a new kind of Gobstopper, fitting especially to Charlie's tastes. Best of all, Wonka giving him his very own Sugar Sheep, Lily.

He sighed. Everything had to do with Willy; nothing that happened, whether good or bad, had _nothing _to do with the Chocolatier. He supposed that it _was_ Wonka's factory after all. But, why did Willy always seem so... involved?

Charlie looked over to the side of the limo that had Willy, who had been quiet for the past several minutes, leaning against the window. Wonka's eyes were closed, but he was obviously not asleep. Charlie knew that he was fully conscious. Probably from the fact that Willy's eyebrows were furrowed in mild concentration and he seemed to be mouthing thoughts and he sat there; only every so often did a word slip from his lips, barely audible unless one wanted to hear.

Charlie breathed out, then leaned against the window again, looking back into the grassy abyss.

A flickering light in the high distance caught Charlie's eye and he followed it till it seemed to be growing closer. He realized, through the solid white glint and ever-flickering red, that it was an airplane that was starting to tear overhead, towards an airport. Soon, the sound of it rang overhead, in what sounded like tearing the sky itself.

"Most inefficient," Willy suddenly said, startling Charlie.

"What?"

"The airplane," Willy opened his eyes to look at Charlie. "It is most inefficient. Much too noisy."

"That's just the way they are, Mr. Wonka."

"Well... they should make them quieter, " Wonka continued. "Take my elevator for example. The only noise it makes is when the jets are starting. But can you hear it after that?"

Charlie shook his head.

"Exactly."

Charlie just grinned, but he had to agree with his friend. The airplanes _were_ rather noisy and inefficient compared to the Great Glass Elevator. The thought of _why _they didn't use the Elevator in the first place came to Charlie's mind with slight ringing confusion.

-_Excuse me, Mr. Wonka and Mr. Bucket_,- said the driver over the in-car speakers. Charlie jumped at being referred as 'Mr. Bucket.' -_We had arrived at the airport, and I am currently finding a parking space for you.-_

"Uhh... thank you," Willy said, pressing a button that was on the side of the door.

-_You're welcome sir. Oh, I have seen the amount of suitcases that you have placed in the back; you do have a lot of baggage sir. I will be helping you bring them to the airport and drop them off at the Luggage Drop.-_

"Thank you...?" Wonka said nervously, smiling in such a way that showed he really didn't know whether to reject it or not.

Charlie giggled; the look on Wonka's face was rather priceless. He supposed it was because a random stranger was offering to help him out for no 'apparent' reason. The driver also chuckled over the speakers.

Only a few seconds later, the limo stopped and the driver left it. Willy's door opened first, and the driver stood there, beckoning for Wonka to leave with an open hand.

"You first, sir," the driver said with a grin.

"Er... Kay." Willy scrambled to place his goggles back on and he gave a grin before stepping out of the vehicle.

"Now you, Mr. Bucket," the driver said, stooping lower to face Charlie on the other side of the limo

Charlie grinned and scrambled over the black leather seats, squeaking as he did so, and got out, standing beside Wonka.

"I shall go fetch a luggage rack, I will be right back, sirs," the driver said, before wheeling around to grab a 'luggage rack' to lighten the load.

Charlie was looking around, fascinated. He never really left the town that he lived in, and any time he did, it wasn't too particularly different from were he left. To see so many people at once was startling. He glanced up and around with a fascinated look on his face, in awe of its difference. He couldn't wait to see New York, and how many people _it _had.

Wonka, though, was looking at the matter entirely differently. He shoved his left hand in his pocket, and if he could have, his right would have matched his left. He breathed out sharply, the cool air forming a mist in front of his face. He looked down and started to fidget, thinking to himself sharply about were he was. He definitely _could _wait to see New York...

Willy and Charlie were very similar in more than one way. One of them was the fact that Charlie and Wonka both grew up in the same town, and both Charlie and Wonka never really left it. Though, each of them had entirely different ideas of where they wanted to be at that exact moment, no matter _how_ similar they were.

Behind them, they heard the loud clattering of light metal, and both of them whipped around to see the driver come up with a cart that could hold all of their baggage.

"Sorry it took so long," the driver said. "Had a bit of a run-in with another person and had to wait till another one came by."

The man stopped the cart and walked over to the limo, popping the trunk. He started by pulling out the largest suitcases of the whole lot. Charlie saw this and he walked over quickly to grab something from the trunk as well, wishing to relive the man from the onslaught of suitcases that there seemed to be.

"No, no, lad," the driver chuckled. "You don't need to help me. I can handle it."

Charlie looked at him defiantly. "But I want to help."

"All right," he grinned. "You can help."

Willy then decided to follow suit, but the moment his hand reached to grab one of the large ones, he was stopped by both the driver _and_ Charlie.

"No, you don't."

"You have a broken arm, Mr. Wonka."

"Yes, very delicate sir."

"Don't worry, the driver and I can handle it."

"Yes, yes, the young lad and I have it all under control."

Wonka stood still for a moment, then withdrew his arm, looking at them oddly. He then turned his head slightly and made an "hmpf," sound, looking at them out of the corner of his eye.

--------------------------

Willy and Charlie were now sitting on their flight that was on a direct path to New York, no stops. And getting on the actual plane was rather uneventful. All of the luggage had been loaded into the luggage-hold-thingy of the plane, and the only things that Wonka and Charlie took onto the plane were there small personal suitcases.

The AMERICA TODAY company had booked them on a first-class flight, and, like Willy asked, they were actually fairly private from the other passengers. Willy and Charlie sat side-by-side, with Charlie situated by the window and Wonka by the isle.

One thing that surprised Charlie the most was the fact that nobody seemed to recognize Willy for who he was, other than the personnel. It could of been the fact he had been wearing goggle-sunglasses, it could of been the fact that he was looking down whenever he was spoken to or glanced at, or the large coat he wore over that covered almost everything about him. But Charlie was mostly sure that it was the fact that mostly everyone had really forgotten what Wonka looked like in the first place. Well, he had been dubbed "missing in his own factory" for over ten years and the only pictures anyone had of him were blurred ones or just shots of his back turned from the camera. Wonka's face, though as famous as he was, was forgotten in the sea of time.

Even though Willy had not yet brought much attention to himself, (though Charlie was sure he would have by that point,) he still looked around the plane warily, gripping one of the arm-rests with his gloved hand, anticipating for someone unknown to him to approach and talk to him. Wonka just hoped that the plane would start already and get the whole trip over with, so he wouldn't have to deal staying on the plane with so many strangers at one time.

Charlie glanced over at Willy and saw the tension rising through Wonka's rigid form. The least he could do was turn Wonka's mind away from being stared at. So he turned to his companion and said, "Mr. Wonka, have you ever flown on a airplane before?"

"Eh.. what?" Wonka asked, turning his head towards Charlie almost reluctantly. "Sorry, Charlie, what did you say?"

"I said, have you even flown on an airplane before, Mr. Wonka?" Charlie repeated.

"Oh yes. Loads of times."

"When, and where did you go?" Charlie continued urging for Wonka to continue.

"Let's see," Willy tapped his finger to his chin as he thought. "Hmm. Well, I went once when I had to go to India. I have also been to Switzerland and Bavaria, the candy capitals of the world. Oh, of course, I went to some island by a personal plane, and found Loompa-Land." Willy sighed. "But that was all before I closed down the factory, except the Oompa-Loompas of course."

"You haven't been on one since?"

"Nope," Willy looked up as if he was remembering something. "And I am rather glad that I haven't. I really do hate traveling by plane. The whole business makes me nervous. I just don't feel safe in something that I haven't seen the blueprints for."

"Blueprints?" Charlie looked at Willy, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You see, I have been designing things my whole life, and the only things I really trust are the things that I know what makes them tick. I can tell if something could go wrong, would go wrong, or never go wrong. I just feel safer to know how well they designed these things."

"So that's why you trust the Great Glass Elevator so much," Charlie figured out loud, "because you designed it, so you know what flaws it has, if any."

"Yea," Wonka looked around, "and by the looks of this plane, if they can't make a machine like this as quiet as I could make the Elevator, then I wouldn't hold much regards for safety in this thing."

"Well this plane is considerably _bigger_ than the Great Glass Elevator and-"

Willy interrupted. "And? _I_ could make this work as quietly and much safer than it is now. It is possible, it's just those air-engineers, they haven't yet seen the most obvious and efficient way of making flying things. It's all so obvious."

"Then why don't you help them?"

Wonka looked down at Charlie with some amount of disgust in his face. "Why would I? I'm a candy-maker, not a air-engineer."

Charlie chuckled. "Just asking, Mr. Wonka."

"Hmpf."

-_Good evening passengers of flight 486, would you please fasten your seat-belts, the plane is getting ready to take off,-_ said the pilot over the speakers.

Wonka gulped. "I always hate this part... makes your ears pop."

Charlie grinned back, "Dad always told me that if you chew gum, your ears won't pop as much."

Willy's face wrinkled in disgust. "Ew."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– This was fun to write. But, I really can't wait till the next chapter. Oh, and I'll at least -try- to get Chapter 17 updated before CatCF comes out on Dvd... :)

**Wonka-Land Info **– I allways seem to have _somthing_ to type here, don't I?

Limo? Why did he take it?- No, he's not prissy and enjoys to flash his supposed Billions of Dollers infront of thier faces. He really likes the privacy, and I really can't see him driving...

What did they bring? - I dunno... read!

Flight 486 - Oooh! If you can find out what this stands for (the flight #) then I'll give you some Wonka Chocolates!

Why didn't they take the Elevator? - Willy will explain it to Charlie later.

**Chapter Seventeen Preview **– Willy and Charlie are now at very high altitudes, and have to suffer through a Seven Hour long flight to New York's main airport. What hectics could happen? Will Willy survive? And why does he hate Bubblegum so much?

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour les reviews mes amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– Has gotten it back to me. Yay! I thank her so much (and you should too.)

**Important Note**: Please Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	17. Chewing Gum You Hate the Most

(**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Wow. I wrote this Chapter pretty quickly once I had time, (days wise, not hours...), I really had a flow going on with the whole chapter. Oh, since I got the DVD, I only have seen the moive twice, but, I'm sure I'll see it again soon. I plan to see the movie sometime this weekend, once the Midterm is over, good thing that this is a tad early, so updates will be normal during study hours.

This chapter has to be one of my favorties, I absolutly love it.

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: **If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Seventeen Summery **– Why does Willy Wonka hate Chewing gum the most? What are his reasons for such a bizzare hate? Even for a Chocolatier? Charlie want's to find out, and Willy can't exactly escape his pestering when they are sitting on a plane, several thousand feet in the air, with no chance of escape.

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**Chapter 17 - Chewing Gum You Hate the Most?**

"Ew," Willy said, face wrinkling up with mild disgust. "I hate chewing gum. I would take popped ears any day over bubble gum, or _any_ gum for that matter."

Charlie looked at Wonka, and searched his thoughts in confusion. He had often wondered about Wonka's distaste for the chewy delectable, but it really made no sense for a Chocolatier and a Candy Maker to hate _gum_. Charlie, as much as he hated to admit it, knew that Mike Teavee had a point, _if Mr. Wonka hates gum so much, then why does he make it?_ Plus, why _did_ he hate gum? There had to be a reason for his disgust.

"Mr. Wonka, why _do_ you hate chewing gum so much?" Charlie asked. "I mean, I don't understand. Chewing Gum _is_ candy isn't it? I would think that _you'd _like it," said Charlie sensibly.

Willy took a breath and then sighed, looking away from Charlie, "I _don't_ want to talk about it. I just don't like it, that's it. It's a nasty habit, that's all..." He placed on a face of disgust, then it seemed to thin out to an expression of remembrance.

Charlie somehow couldn't believe his mentor; it couldn't _just _be the fact that he thought it was a nasty habit. But, Charlie decided to leave it at that, and not to bother Wonka any further about the subject. It seemed it was rather touchy subject with the famous chocolatier. Charlie knew that somehow he'd figure out about what the _real_ reason was, but until then, Charlie would wait patiently.

The plane wasn't going to take off right away; first, the stewardesses had to explain all of the safety features and point to the safety escape doors. They did so quickly; and they _constantly_ made sure that Wonka knew exactly what was going on, and where exactly everything was. Willy, not appreciating the attention from the stewardesses, just nodded numbly whenever they asked if he understood and turned away from them, looking at the back of the chair in front of him.

At the end, the one that did most of the door-opening demonstration, noticed Willy sitting in the seat and made a beeline towards him with a large grin on her face.

"Excuse me," she said in a high, sickly sweet voice, as she looked at Willy, totally ignoring the fact that Charlie was even there.

Willy turned away from the chair and towards her nervously, as if he just realized that she was speaking to _him_. Though really, who else would she be talking to? Wonka cleared his throat and he flashed his brilliant white teeth in a nervous smile.

"Y-yes?" Willy asked, his smile flickering.

"I was just wondering..." she licked her lips with anticipation and she looked closer at Wonka, as if she was trying to look through his sun-goggle-glasses, "are you Willy Wonka?"

Willy looked at her with his mouth slightly open, as if he really didn't know whether to answer the question or not, but he did so anyways. "Yes. I am Willy Wonka."

She stood up straight and clasped her hands together and made a loud, excited noise; Wonka cringed. "It _is_ you! Oh my! _The_ William Wonka, the very famous Chocolatier!"

"No. No I'm not," Wonka said flatly, looking at her with annoyance.

She looked a little hurt, and said in a small defeated voice, "But you said-"

"I _said_, that _my _name was _Willy_ Wonka... not _William_ or whatever gibberish you said," Wonka turned his head forward, really wishing that she'd go away and leave him alone, though, he still glanced at her from the corner of his eye through the goggles.

"Oh... I see."

The smile crept back over the stewardess's face and she continued, "I just want to let you _know_, _Willy_ Wonka, that the show _America Today _wants to send best regards to you, and wishes you a safe flight!" She smiled again, "I hope you do, too, and the plane is going to take off, so buckle up."

With that said in her sickly chipper voice and with one last smile, the stewardess turned on her heels and walked down the hall to get ready for her first round through the plane.

Wonka sighed deeply, "I just remembered," he said to himself more than Charlie, mumbling under his breath, and rubbing his temple with his left hand, "another reason why I don't like to fly."

-_All right, all passengers,_- the pilot said over the inter-com, -_The plane is going to start down the runway, Please make sure that all of you are seated and you are belted in.-_

Once the pilot finished speaking the engines started up with a deep rumble, not all too different from the Great Glass Elevator starting up. Though it was much, _much_ louder than the Great Glass Elevator would ever be. As the engines continued to rumble, both Charlie and Wonka felt the plane jolt as it began to move across the runway.

Charlie turned to Wonka, who was gripping the armrest of his seat tightly and looking forward with the most ridged expression on his face. He seemed to be trying to focus with all his might at the back of the seat just in front; Charlie knew that if Wonka would actually take off his goggles, his eyebrows would be furrowed in deep concentration. Charlie supposed that Willy was trying to keep his mind off the fact that he didn't trust the plane one bit.

As the plane started to slowly position itself on the runway, the stewardesses started to make some rounds. Thankfully for Wonka, the one that talked to him previously was not one of the ones on first class at that point. But soon his sigh of relief would turn to a sigh of annoyance and despair.

One of the stewardesses, who Charlie noticed as being one of the ones that helped with the demonstration, was working with the row that Charlie and Wonka were sitting in. As she walked down, it looked as if she was handing out something to everyone; most people took it after a few seconds of explaining.

She approached the row, and looked down at Willy. "Excuse me, sir," she said politely, and just as normally as she did for the other people.

Wonka turned to her. "Yes...?" Willy was really hoping that she wasn't going to pester him like the last one did.

"I was wondering if I could interest you in a piece of gum," she said cheerfully, pointing to the trolley behind her. "This can seriously reduce the uncomfortable popping in your ears as we take off and land. We have normal, mint, citrus-"

Wonka glanced at the gum briefly, then interrupted her, "-grape, cherry, spearmint, twisted mint, and cinnamon. Oh, and no thank you," after that said, he bristly turned and faced away from her.

"Oh... I see," she said politely. She then turned to Charlie, "Would you like a piece of gum?"

"Yes please."

"What flavor?"

"May I please have some Twisted Mint?" Charlie asked, smiling.

"Why of course!" She said and grabbed the piece of gum and handed it to Charlie. "Have a nice flight," she then walked off to tend to the next row of passengers.

As Charlie unwrapped the piece of gum and placed it in his mouth, Wonka turned to him briskly.

"How can you chew that?" Willy said with disgust in his voice, his face mirroring his speech.

"Well, it's going to keep my ears from popping, and I don't usually have gum," Charlie said, looking at Willy with confusion. He continued to think with confusion till a couple of seconds later, something occurred to him. "It isn't made by Slugworth, Flicklegruber, or Prodnose, is it?"

Willy sighed. "No. It's one of mine. But even then, it's still a nasty habit," Wonka said, still looking at Charlie chewing the gum.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie sighed, "there _has_ to be another reason why you hate gum so much. It can't be the fact that it is a nasty habit, or you'd say that about _all_ candies. It just doesn't make any sense."

Wonka turned away and gave Charlie a sideways glare from beyond his glasses. "It is _so_ my reason, Mr. Smarty-pants." Then Willy made a face in a childish manner and added a small, 'hmf,' noise, still looking forward.

Charlie frowned. "Sorry Mr. Wonka, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Well, you should have thought before opening up your mouth," Willy snapped back, but his voice lightened afterwards. "It's okay... I guess, just don't say I _don't_ have proper reasons again, kay? You know nothing about me."

"Yes, sir." Charlie paused, he thought that maybe he _could_ find out why he hated gum so much. "Mr. Wonka, have you ever had gum?"

"Yes... but I don't remember, I must have hated it," Wonka said briskly.

But, Willy did remember the very first, and last, piece of gum that he had ever eaten.

_It was before the time where young Willy had even had his first taste of candy and Chocolate. Little Willy Wonka was sitting in his father's dentist office, reading a book. It was a day off of work for his father, and Wilber Wonka was out for the morning, letting Willy, for the very first time, to be at home alone. Willy flipped through the pages of the book warily, wondering when his father would come back._

_He was awaiting a special treatment from his father. For about a year, he had been fitted with slightly more-than-tolerable sized braces, and his father was thinking of making them better fitting, in about a month. On that day, Willy was waiting for his father to check if his braces were still intact, and if he could actually have them changed, and pre-plan the braces. Willy dearly hoped that his father would change his braces; even after a year, Willy could not stand waking up to cold, steel metal pressing against his face every morning, and it was still embarrassing to heel as though he had a cage around the sides of his head. At least... it wasn't headgear._

_Willy placed down the book and slipped off the high, black stool that he sat on and walked over to the white counter where his father kept all of his dental equipment. He looked across its clean surface and started to count the cotton swabs that stood in a jar that stood by the corner of the wall. His eyes flickered down to one of the drawers. He'd seen it before, and his father often opened it after he was done tending to a patient._

_It had to be the drawer where the little boy or girl was allowed to pick a prize. Willy looked around nervously; he knew that he was never allowed to take anything from there, but a peek wouldn't hurt anything, would it? -No...- Willy decided, -it wouldn't hurt anything...-_

_Willy pulled open the drawer and peered inside. The contents of the drawer were as much as Willy expected. Bunches of toy bracelets and tiny beanbag stuffed toys for girls, and small toy cars and jet-planes for boys. But one thing seemed to catch Willy's eye, a box filled with individually wrapped, teeth-cleaning gum._

_Willy knew that it was tasteless; his father had explained to Willy before that, "It doesn't need to have taste, as long as it cleans your teeth." But, his father also said to him that he was basically forbidden to have any at all. Willy was told that, "Gum would get stuck in your braces, and you don't want that, do you?" _

_Willy looked around again. What harm would happen from taking -one- piece of gum? Surly, if he tried only -one- piece, that would give him a very -small- chance of getting it stuck. Even if it -did- get stuck in his braces, he could just pull it out anyway. It wasn't like he never got anything stuck in it before._

_That's -it,- he would take the gum. He knew that his father, Wilber Wonka, would surely not miss one -single- piece of gum, and if he did, Willy would tell a small lie and say that maybe one of his patients took two by accident, or maybe a piece fell on the floor and he swept it up by accident. Which probably happened commonly anyway; lots of things dropped on the floor all the time, why not a piece of gum?_

_Young Willy reached into the drawer grabbed one of the strips of gum. He pulled away from the drawer, closing it, while examining the piece of gum close to his face. He looked around again before unwrapping it, then sticking the thin strip in his mouth._

_It wasn't exactly -tasteless-, but didn't taste sweet either. At least it didn't taste bad. He walked back to his stool and sat on it, holding up his book to read it. Willy knew that if his father came in, he could just jam it on the inside of his cheek, then go to the bathroom to rid himself of it entirely. Wilber Wonka would never even know that his son tried a piece of gum; it wasn't like Willy would smell like mint afterwards._

_Willy chewed the piece of gum for several minutes while reading his book, starting to enjoy just chewing the gum. He didn't really care if it didn't taste sweet, but, it was the closest thing to candy he had ever had, even though it wasn't really -candy-, so it really didn't count in young Willy's books. As chewed, he started to hear a strange metallic squeaking noise coming from his mouth, and he just assumed that it was the gum rubbing against the metal around his teeth._

_Willy ignored the squeaking and went back on to reading the book, his mouth still working away at the gum. Then, the creaking became louder, and Willy looked around, thinking that it could maybe be from elsewhere, but once he stopped chewing to investigate, the sounds stopped as well._

_Willy took another chew with precaution, and no notice coupled with it, excusing the soft chewing-squishy notice that gum generally made while being chewed. Willy thought that maybe it was just a moment where the gum was pressing against the metal again, so, he began to chew away once more, shrugging off the noise as a mere sound that came with gum._

_He started to chew away for about a couple of seconds when he heard a sharp sound like a whip snapping, and something began pressing against the side of his gums painfully, locking his jaws completely shut. Willy shouted in surprised and he held his hand up to his face, in an attempt to stop the pain, as he slipped on the stood and dashed to the bathroom._

_He tried to open his mouth to relive the extreme pressure on the inside of his mouth, but whatever it was, was also locking his mouth completely shut. Willy started to panic, and pulled on his bottom jaw in a feeble attempt to pry his mouth open. But the more he tugged, the more whatever it was pressed into his gums._

_Willy tasted copper every-so-slightly in his mouth, and he knew that it must have slightly cut the inside of his mouth in the process of snapping and locking his jaws shut._

_Willy looked in the mirror, whimpering in misery of the situation and the pain, running his hands over his bottom jaw as if he was trying to find a hold where he could just simply pull his mouth open. When he could find nothing, he ran his hands across part of small outer-brace, trying to maybe find a way to unlock his jaws._

_Willy heard a clicking at the front door as his father came in from whatever he was previously doing, and Wilber called out._

_"Willy, I'm home. I -hope- you have behaved yourself in my absence."_

_Willy started to panic and started to pull on the sides of his braces trying to maybe break his mouth free before his father was going to come upstairs._

_"Willy?"_

_Young Willy shut the door of the bathroom quickly, and turned on the tap to drown out any muffles of pain that he might emit when pulling on his braces. Though, as if pulling was helping -anything-, the more Willy pulled, the deeper and deeper the metal tried to press into his gums, and the tighter and tighter he felt his jaws locking together. Willy started to feel that at that rate, he would -never- be able to eat again... let alone ever try candy for the first time._

_Wilber Wonka's footsteps could be heard thundering up stairs, "Willy, what aren't you responding?"_

_Willy looked at the door again, and turned up the tap louder. Although, that only made his father more suspicious of what was actually happening in the bathroom. Wilber approached the door and knocked on it loudly._

_"Willy? Willy...? What are you doing in there?" Wilber knocked again, "Willy! Come out here at once! I will not tolerate this nonsense!"_

_Willy half thought that he could just stay in there, to only delay the pain he was going to receive from his father. Willy shuddered, he really didn't know -exactly- what he was going to do, but he knew that his father was going to shout... a lot, then, he was probably going to take off the braces, and that would hurt too. But then again, that would not be an entirely bad thing... would it?_

_"Willy?"_

_Willy decided that he was going to show his father, no matter -how- much shouting he was going to be receiving from his father. For all Willy knew, he deserved it._

_After Willy shut off the tap, he made out to call back to his father, but for the momentary second, forgot his braces where locked tight, and when he called back, a blight of sharp pain scoured through his mouth as the metal finally managed to cut into his gums._

_Willy made a muffled shout in pain that Wilber clearly heard from the outside of the door._

_Wilber's eyes opened wide. What was wrong with Willy? What was he trying to hide from him? He had to find out. Wilber gave the doorknob a rattle, and when it refused to open, he quickly produced a key and unlocked it with a satisfying swiftness. Wilber Wonka pushed open the door, and saw his son, Willy Wonka, leaning slightly over, holding onto his mouth in pain._

_Making swift work, Wilber dashed to the side of his son and knelt down, trying to see beyond Willy's hands, his own holding Willy reassuringly against his side._

_"Willy... what's the matter?" he asked, looking at his son with concern._

_When Willy tried again to talk, all he managed as a short mumble, then another muffled shout when the metal pressed deeply again. Wilber immediately understood._

_Wilber asked hurryingly, "Your braces?"_

_Willy nodded, tears starting to form out of pain._

_"Are they... hurting you?"_

_Wilber received another vigorous nod from Willy._

_Wilber looked at Willy straight and pulled Willy's hands away from his mouth._

_"Good lord, Willy, you're bleeding!"_

_Willy was bleeding, but not by much at all. But by a dentists and a father's point of view, it was too much for any son to handle. Wilber quickly grabbed one of the grey towels of the bathroom and pressed it to Willy's mouth and guided Willy to hold it firmly with one hand._

_"Willy, come with me, and keep that towel there. I'll get those braces off of you as soon as I can!"_

_Willy nodded again, and sniffed in sharply, he wasn't crying, but tears still dripped down his face in the pain of the situation. No matter what Willy tried to do, the warm tears still welled up in his eyes._

_Wilber helped Willy up and led his son downstairs quickly to the dentist's chair._

_Willy was flung quickly against the black leather of the chair, looking up at the ceiling warily. His father was pre-occupying himself by washing his hands, placing on white-rubber gloves and finding all the necessary equipment, and putting them on a trolley. Willy closed his eyes as his father clinked away in background, worrying about what would happen when his father was going to find the very-obvious piece of gum._

_Wilber wheeled the trolley over, and he pulled up the dentist's chair and turned on the light, which caused a reaction from Willy, who opened his eyes. Wilber then kindly pulled the light-grey towel away from Willy's jaws and shined the light over the offending braces._

_"Now Willy, I'm going to have to give you a needle, because I don't think there is a way to remove the braces without pain," Wilber explained. He tried to make it sound very important, which it was. But he knew how much Willy hated anything to do with medicine, thermometers... needles. He knew that Willy was going to hate it. "This is -very- important Willy, -very,- this is going to get rid of a lot of the pain."_

_Willy looked up at his father with concern, but then nodded in a defeated manner, he would have to suffer getting a needle, but it would end up with no pain and the braces off. So with feeling of great regret, Willy nodded. Anyway, how could it -possibly- hurt more than what he was currently experiencing?_

_Wilber sighed with relief. "Good." Then he took out the needle. "I promise, this won't hurt for long."_

_----------------------_

_Wilber had been working on Willy's braces for a bit over a half an hour, and he was nearly done removing the braces from his face, so he could finally open his mouth and remove the hostile metallic offender in his son's mouth. _

_The whole time, Wilber went through thousands of scenarios about what Willy could have done to cause such a thing to happen, and the only possible solution that came to mind was that: Willy did something, and it -definitely- was something he shouldn't have. That could have explained why his son was trying to drown the noises of his predicament with the tap water, to hide whatever he was doing._

_Willy had his eyes shut the entire time and he was none the wiser of what his father was doing. His whole mouth was numb, and he couldn't see what his father was doing. All he could sense was the buzz of dental equipment, and the warm smell of hot metal. But still throbbing in the back was the pain, although it was so distant that Willy didn't care anymore._

_Wilber placed down his tools and wiped his forehead. Then, with slow, careful movements, he made to slowly remove the last bit of the brace that was in his son's mouth. He pulled on it gently, and with a light, forgiving 'click,' the braces pulled away from Willy's face, and his jaws were finally free of restriction._

_Willy felt the light click, as his face felt less pressure in some areas, and as he opened his eyes, he saw his father pulling away the braces. His mouth was free._

_Wilber sighed happily. "There. That's done with. Now, to remove the last bit that still seems to be in your mouth…"_

_Wilber levered down Willy's jaws lightly, and pulled out a sharp, snapped piece of metal out and away from his gums. Finally, the whole ordeal was done. Willy was free._

_Willy sighed, but he knew if he tried to speak, he'd sound like an idiot because his mouth was still as numb as it was before. But he smiled as best he could up at his father in a big, grateful 'thank you'._

_Wilber smiled back, happy to see that Willy was suffering no longer. But, he inwardly sighed sadly, now knowing –what- exactly happened, for, attached to the snapped bit of metal, was a piece of white gum, and he knew where it came from. He knew, as much as he knew it would hurt his son, he would have to punish Willy._

_----------------------_

_Wilber stood in front of his son, the fire crackling angrily behind him. Willy was situated in a large chair, and the only thing that was between his father and himself was the coffee table that held the former braces that Willy wore._

_Willy knew it was too good to be true. He definitely knew that he wasn't going to get off easily. Even though Willy thought that he learned his lesson anyways, Wilber Wonka wanted to make sure that Willy -did- understand._

_"So," Wilber started, letting the word hang in the air for a few seconds before continuing, "you disobeyed me."_

_Willy nodded. "Yes sir," he said, his mouth much less numb now that it wasn't frozen anymore._

_"And -why- did you disobey me?" Wilber said, turning to his son. "Because -curiosity- got the better of you."_

_Willy just nodded, listening to his father with an expressionless face._

_"You didn't listen to me, Willy, and I am -very- disappointed in you," Wilber said, sitting down to face his son. "I -told- you that you shouldn't have any gum, that it'd get stuck in your braces. But did you listen...? No, you didn't. You took the gum anyways, and -look- where it you end up!"_

_Willy just stayed silent, doing nothing._

_"I can't say I don't understand what you feel, but, I just can't let these things happen," he said, making sure that Willy was going to understand everything that he was going to say next, "Willy, I am going to place down some more rules for you. I wish I didn't have to, but seeing what happened today... obviously, I do."_

_Willy's insides twisted. -Oh no...- He knew that when his father set rules... boy, did he -set- them, and there was no turning back for years to come. Willy inwardly braced himself._

_"First of all, you will -not- be allowed to have any candy, -ever-. That especially means gums, taffies and caramels. No matter if they are meant to clean your teeth or -not-. Second, you will not be allowed out of my presence until I know that you can function without doing something stupid. That means you will be attending all meeting with me. Thirdly... I am going to make a... change... to your braces. A -big- change."_

_Willy gulped; he knew he was not going to like his father's next words. Something just told him that._

_"I can see now the braces I designed for you can break and hurt you easily, so, for your safety and teeth correction, I will have to give you head-gear to keep it from ever happening again."_

_Willy shuddered._

_Wilber continued, "And don't think that -that- is the only reason why. I was already planning to give you head-gear, this just proves that you need it more than I thought." Wilber paused, leaned in close to his son. "Do you understand, Willy?"_

_Willy nodded as his father got up and left the room. He felt hot tears once again well up in his eyes, but they never fell. All Willy knew was now that he hated gum; it had caused him so much trouble, pain, suffering, and even more horrible braces that would stay on till he was an adult._

_Willy thought darkly in his head, -I hate gum.- Willy furrowed his eyebrows angrily. -As long as I live, I hope I will -never- eat another piece of gum. I can't -believe- people like it...-_

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie said, looking at Wonka, who, after responding to Charlie's question with a simple, Yes... but I don't remember, I must have hated it,' suddenly slipped off to la-la land and had remained that way for the past several moments.

"Mr. Wonka?" Charlie looked at Willy, whose face was still looking down.

Wonka blinked a couple of times, clearing his head. "Eh... what?" Willy then briskly looked around the plane, and realized that several minutes had passed and the airplane must have just taken off, for his ears were starting to ring. He looked back at Charlie with an embarrassed grin, "I'm sorry... I was having another flashback..."

"I could see that," Charlie said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, of course," Willy said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, recently, when you are having a flashback, you seem to be bothered by something, or what you are remembering wasn't very good."

"Well, how do _you _know?"

"That's just it, I don't. You never tell me."

Wonka looked at Charlie. _Should I? No... I couldn't..._

Willy then said, "Why would I?"

"Because, I _want_ to know. I could help." Charlie inwardly prayed and hoped that Willy would tell him what the problem was. Maybe then he could help Wonka, in a small way.

"I was just remembering how _awful_ it felt to have in my mouth, how icky and _sticky_ it was, that's all," Wonka half-lied. It did feel awful in his mouth; well, at least when it was hurting him. "There. Does that settle the matter?"

Charlie sighed. "I suppose, Mr. Wonka. Everyone has their preferences."

"You're gosh-darned right about that. Even a chocolatier _hates_ at least _one_ kind of candy."

"If you say so, Mr. Wonka."

Willy turned away and pulled up a newspaper that seemed to have fallen on the floor from the past flight, and began holding it up as if he was reading it. _Charlie will never understand, he would probably think it's a stupid reason. But I bet even if that never happened, I would still hate it… gum is gross… sticky and icky, -why- do people like it..? Ew. _

"I do say so."

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– I really enjoyed writing and reading back this Chapter, even though, I say that for most, but, I really do like this Chapter as being one of my top favorites. I really don't know why. But, I really, really, really hope you love this chapter as much as I seem to do.

**Wonka-Land Info **–

Tastless Gum - The only resemblance to candy is the fact you chew it like gum, and that's about it. That's why, when Charlie asked (back when he was getting a tour from Willy), "Can you remember the first candy you ever ate?", Willy thought of the Chocolate, and not the gum.

Flight 486 - Hehe... Wow... nobody got it yet. S'okay, I bet _I _wouldn't even get that if _I_ where reading the fanfiction. I will give you _one _clue, other than this entire chapter, but, think... telephone.

Willy's braces - Wilber was allready planning to give Willy the full-headgear in the first place, and before then, and in this chapter, Willy only had a strip-support that went around the back of his head, and definatally not as a cage around his head. His teeth are not as extravigantly shown as the head-gear.

**Chapter Eighteen Preview **– It is near the end of the flight, and both Charlie and Willy are more comfortable with talking on the plane, and both Willy and Charlie get a chance to catch the news, and you'd _never_ guess who happens to be on it.

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour les reviews mes amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– I thank my beta-er so much, plus, I thank her for saying that this was one of her top favorites too.

**Important Note**: _Please _Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	18. Even More Famous

(**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

I am _so_ sorry for that huge delay. But, I have good excuses. Studying… and Christmas. Anyway, here it is, Chapter 18! So, I really do hope that you enjoy, and that you had a good holiday and a happy new year!

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: **If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Eighteen Summary **– Now the plane has stopped, Charlie's asleep, dreaming of happy things. Reporters are waiting impatiently outside. Oh dear, what's going to happen to our favourite chocolatier?

* * *

**Chapter 18 - Even More Famous**

_Charlie was sitting in the mist of a vast field of swudge. It was blowing gently in the wind, and there was a clear-blue sky above him. He savored it's warmth with closed eyes and felt the coolness of the swudge-grass beneath him as he lay upon his back in the middle of the massive field._

_Charlie felt amazing; it was so nice, so warm, so comfortable. Whatever seemed to have bothered him before was gone now, it was only a whisper of what was now gone. Charlie couldn't feel happier._

_A small bleat was heard behind him, and Charlie opened his eyes, flipping over to see where the soft sound had come from. He smiled happily when he saw who and what it was, and he greeted her with open arms._

_"Hello Lily," he said to the young sugar-sheep lamb, stroking her wool softly. How are you?"_

_She bleated cutely again, and licked his cheek._

_"Good, huh?" Charlie, gazing down the field, added, "Where's Mr. Wonka?"_

_Lily turned around and pointed with her nose towards the Elevator shaft in the wall, bleating again._

_Charlie felt disappointed. "Oh. Mr. Wonka is busy... isn't he?"_

-Why would I? I'm a candy-maker, not a air-engineer.- _Willy's voice rang out through the silence._

_"Oh Lily, I know he didn't mean it. He's just frustrated... that's all. I'm sure that Mr. Wonka really didn't mean it."_

-It is -so- my reason, Mr. Smartypants...- _The words cut through the air in a hurtful childish manner._

_Charlie chuckled, "Oh Lily, don't worry. Mr. Wonka was just saying what he always does. I know that he means no harm of it."_

-Well, you should have thought before opening up your mouth.- _Those words stung, and a cold breeze rustled through the grass. _

_Charlie shivered momentarily with a frown. But, he looked at Lily straight on while saying, "I know he shouldn't have said that. I know. But I also know he didn't mean it. So I won't fret over it. Okay?"_

_Lily gave a soft smile and nodded, snuggling up to Charlie. _

_"I'm sure that Mr. Wonka will be back down here to play with us, and everything will be fine."_

_Just at Charlie's words, the Elevator 'dinged' open, and Willy stepped outside, both arms free of any restriction. Sunny bounded out of seemingly no-where and greeted Wonka with a bleat._

_Wonka bent over and picked up Sunny with both of his arms, snuggling her in close. "C'mon Charlie, let's go have some fun with our sugar sheep!"_

Charlie rested quietly with his head pressed against his pillow lightly. He felt so content, his mind off somewhere in dreamland and sheep, and he wasn't intending anytime soon to change that routine. Charlie had fallen asleep during the flight about only an hour after the conversation with Wonka and he continued to sleep on, not to wake up once for the entire flight.

"Charlie," a voice seemed to be calling Charlie from the mists of beyond, breaking the images of the fields and valleys. "Charlie... time to get up." But Charlie didn't want to get up... not yet. He would just sleep for five more minutes... Yea, that would be nice...

Willy sighed, sat back down in the chair, and shook Charlie's shoulders lightly with his left hand.

"C'mon, Charlie," he said, "you've got to get up. The plane has landed. People are leaving," Wonka pointed to the people slowly disembarking from the plane. "See?"

Wonka heard Charlie mumble under his breath as he snuggled deeper into the pillow he was clutching onto. "Just ten more minutes Mum... "

Willy was taken aback. _Mum... Mum?_ Wonka returned in annoyance, "_Ten more minutes_? I'm _sorry_, but, we _don't _have that," and he sat up with a hurt expression on his face. A passing stewardess giggled, and he shot her a stern glace in return before turning back to Charlie to continue, "and, I am most certainly _not_ your _Mother_,"

Charlie's eyes suddenly flickered open and he looked up bleary-eyed at Willy. "Of course you're not my mother," he said sleepily, as he rubbed his eyes. "What ever gave you that silly idea, Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka gave a short breath, a sigh of annoyance really, then he grabbed Charlie's wrist and pulled him up and out of the seat and onto his feet. Willy let go of Charlie's wrist and said quickly, "We have to go."

The suddenness of being torn from his seat and stood upright woke Charlie up rather quickly and the images of his dream disappeared from memory and time, leaving Charlie with the feeling that he just had a long sleep.

He glanced around the plane, now fully aware of his surroundings, and the fact that there was nobody there. "I can see that," Charlie said, his brain now fully functional, rubbing his right wrist absentmindedly.

"Good," Wonka said quickly, still rather perturbed that Charlie had called him 'mum,' and that he was dilly-dallying. "Now, let's go. Let's not delay."

Charlie just nodded quickly as he had his bag handed to him by Wonka, saying nothing. He could just see the heat come off of Willy. It was amazing, Wonka's tension had increased ten fold, and Charlie knew that whatever he might have said was definitely _not_ the cause.

As Wonka pulled back the curtain that separated the classes, a stewardess was standing there with a large grin. Willy gave a look of shock he recoiled backward, and breathed in sharply. He definitely did _not_ expect her to be there at all.

Then, Wonka composed his face, and tried to walk _around_ the attendant, but she just sweetly shoved to the side _he _was trying to go, and looking up at him. Charlie just stopped, and looked around Willy to see what the hold up was.

Wonka gave her a strange look, one of annoyance, then tried to walk on the, now wider, _other_ side of the attendant. But she, just moved in his way again, keeping him from escape.

Willy cleared his throat. "_Excuse me_," he said, his annoyance with the stewardess now rising evidently out of his voice.

But she just stood there, as sweet as ever, looking up at Willy. Then, she suddenly piped up in that chipper voice, "Sorry that I have to bother you, Mr. _Willy _Wonka."

_Oh gosh_, Willy realized with resentment, _it's that stewardess from earlier!_ Wonka forced a grin, and he looked down at her, one eyebrow raised expectantly. _I -knew- I couldn't escape her forever!_

Willy then said from between his teeth, "Oh... it's no _problem_." even Charlie could tell that Wonka emphasised 'problem', more he should have put emphasis on 'no'.

The stewardess, however, took no notice to the more-than-obvious hint that she was very annoying and just continued on her merry way, "I have to inform you, that outside they will have a limo waiting for you at the east side of the airport," she took a breath, "and it seems that some friends of yours seem to know you are here so they are going to greet you when you leave the plane."

Willy said nothing, but he nodded with a grin. Charlie was wondering if the same thing was going through Wonka's as was his. Charlie didn't want to be mean, but... What friends? Charlie was sure that Willy didn't have very many, and he was sure that they were definitely _not_ in New York. He wondered, just _who _was that stewardess talking about?

"That's _all_?" Willy said, lifting an eyebrow and grinning in expectance, dearly hoping that, indeed, that _was_ all.

"Yes..." she said, and she stepped to the side.

Wonka sighed, but just as he began to step through, she stood in front of him; now holding a clip board in front of her nervously. Obviously, this was the _real_ reason she stopped Willy from leaving.

Wonka sighed again, but not out of relief. "What?"

"Uh... could you... could you," she stammered with her words, "could you... givemeyourautographplease?"

She had said the last part so quickly, that Wonka had not time to catch the words. Only Charlie seemed to have understood what she said. So, Willy turned to Charlie in mild confusion in hopes that he did understand.

"She said, Mr. Wonka, that she'd like to have your autograph."

Wonka's face turned from annoyance and confusion to udder surprise. _She wants my... what?_ Of course, Willy has given out his autograph many-a-time. But that was years ago, way back when he was the talk of the nation. Oh wait... he _was_ the talk of the nation.

Willy quickly changed his expression back to his grin and he said sweetly, "Oh yes! Oh, of course!" Wonka, with his eyes still on the stewardess, pulled out a red pen and clicked it. "Your name?"

"It's Mary."

She then held out the clipboard, and let Willy sign it.

_Thank you for the Wonderful plane-ride Mary._

_- Willy Wonka_

Mary looked back at it, then pressed it to her chest with a large grin, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! I'll never forget it Mr. Willy Wonka!"

She then turned, dashed past him and out of sight.

Wonka just gingerly placed his pen back into his pocket and continued to walk forward with a fairly blank face. Charlie, who really didn't know exactly _what_ to think about the whole situation, just followed his mentor, trailing behind by only a few feet.

They reached the point where they were to depart from, and a stewardess was holding the door open for them. Wonka was grateful when she didn't make any advances toward him. But, Willy had this inner feeling of dread that only moments later, he would be wishing that she just asked for his autograph.

The moment he placed a foot out of the doorway a loud eruption of talking increased and flashes of cameras suddenly impeded Willy's sight.

Down below the set of stairs were many, many reporters. Along side them were crowds of people, some of whom were obviously candy-goers or fans. The Police was even there to they keep crowds away from the plane and Wonka.

Willy stopped dead in his tracks. He couldn't believe it. Crowds of people and reporters had swarmed to see Charlie and himself. Once Charlie saw what Wonka had stopped to gape at, he couldn't believe it either. How did they manage to find out what flight that Wonka was arriving from?

Willy stood there, numb. He didn't know what to do; he didn't usually get publicity like _this_. He could only recount a couple of situations that were vaguely familiar to this particular one. One, when he opened up his factory. Two, when he closed down his factory. Three, when the ticket-winners were waiting to go inside his factory. During all of those times, he had been far away from the crowds and reporters, and he soon disappeared into his factory soon after the distant contact. But now, he was going to be walking _into_ the crowd of reporters, rather than escape away from them.

Charlie gave Wonka a little nudge in the side when he stopped moving and the reporters started to give strange looks at one another when all Willy seemed to be doing was standing there looking like an idiot. A very surprised idiot. Some reporters were even writing in their notebooks, and Charlie knew all too well that was not going to be a very good thing at all.

Willy jumped ever so slightly when Charlie nudged him, but soon after realized why Charlie did that in the first place. He shot Charlie a nervous glance before almost robotically turning at the crowd with a large grin plastered across his face. Then, he descended the stairs as if nothing was the matter.

Charlie was astounded at how Wonka was taking the crowd. It was definitely _not_ how he expected the scenario was going to turn out. He assumed that Willy was going to pull some sort of fit and faint. But here he was, handling it like a pro, like he never had a problem with large groups of people or reporters.

Just what was the difference? Why did Willy seem to handle this situation much better than the others? _Well_, Charlie thought at he followed Wonka down the stairs, _it's not entirely a -bad- thing. _But, he knew that there had to be a reason. No one could get over something like that in a matter of _hours_.

"Mr. Wonka! Could I talk to you for a moment?"

"Mr. Wonka, the viewers would like to know..."

"What does it feel like to have one of the largest companies in the world?"

A large group of reporters pounded him with questions the moment Willy Wonka was within range. But he just pressed pass them without as much as a word, only giving a wave whenever someone motioned to him that they would be taking a picture.

When Charlie, who was only a few feet behind Wonka, neared the reporters, they swarmed around him, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"How does it feel to be living with the great chocolateir?"

A question. For him. He answered with a nervous smile. "It's great-" But, Charlie was cut-off before he could finish his sentence.

The reporters shot Charlie more questions, microphones getting placed in front of him.

"Why are you living there?"

"What is it like inside?"

"I don't think I can answer those-" Just as Charlie was to finish his sentence, he was cut-off again.

"You were the finder of the _last _golden ticket?"

"Yes..."

"And you where also the one that won the special prize at the end?"

"Yes..."

"Could you explain in full what the special prize was?"

"No. I don't think I can answer that right now-"

Charlie was turned around, just to be bombarded with more questions about the factory, about the contest, about his home-life, about Wonka, about his family, about the prize, and so on. Charlie soon tried to walk away as Willy did, to escape, but the reporters didn't part for the little boy as they did for Wonka, oh no... they stayed put and still asked him questions.

"Why did you come with Willy Wonka on this trip? When did you decide to come? Did he make you come? Why are you supporting him? What are you going to do about this whole situation?"

"Because. Almost immediately. No. Because he's my friend. I dunno."

Charlie tried again to leave, but once they found out that answers were fairly easy to get out of the small boy, they turned on him with more and more questions.

Charlie was starting to get distressed, and slightly scared. It was horrible to have a whole group or strangers surround you and demand that you answer every one of _their_ questions. There was a lot of shouting going on as the questions continued; every reporter was trying to get a piece of Charlie.

"I _think_ that will be _enough_. Thank you very much," said a voice from behind Charlie, and some of the Reporters fell silent and some suddenly began scribbling in their notebooks.

Then, Charlie felt a tug at the collar of his shirt as he was half-dragged, half-turned around towards the person who was doing it.

_Mr. Wonka! _Charlie didn't say it, but he was sure glad to see that Wonka had backtracked to save Charlie from those reporters.

Wonka gave Charlie a wink and a smile, and ushered Charlie in front of himself. As they walked, he pulled Charlie in close with his left hand, to be sure that he wasn't going to be the subject of any more questions.

In fact, Willy was rather disgusted that they would jump upon first opportunity to corner Charlie and start asking him hundreds of questions. He knew that young children should _never_ be put in that position. So he kept Charlie close, and walked as quickly as he could to get Charlie out of there.

"Mr. Wonka," a reporter stopped him with a microphone held not only two inches from his face, "could we ask you a few questions?"

_Oh. So you ask me permission and not Charlie?_ He though bitterly, though, with a smile he returned, "No, we have to go, you see? Very busy."

"But- Our viewers have to know! Please?"

"No," with that said, Willy pushed past the reporter, and continued on.

It only took a minute or so to get past the last of the reporters. They didn't have to worry about them following Wonka, because the police were there, and they stopped them from following Willy any farther than they should. This thought made Charlie sigh out-loud in relief; he was very thankful that _that_ was over.

Willy continued on without saying much, only, "They probably will still follow us until we get in our limo and there were definitely be people at the hotel we will be staying at." Wonka then pushed open the door of the airport.

Charlie sighed again, though not of relief. Having this much attention was tiring. Willy frowned, thinking about what happened to Charlie, but said nothing as they walked across the halls of the airport and to the east side of the airport and towards the limo.

-----------------

_Much better_, Willy thought as he rested his head against the black leathery surface of the limo seat. He was glad to be out of there, away from all those people. He knew that he would probably face all of that again, but for now, he'd just push it out of his mind and relax. Something that he really needed to do.

Wonka took a sideways glance at Charlie, to see how he was fairing after that tense and rather disturbing moment. Charlie was looking down, looking at his hands, his mind obviously thinking.

Willy sat up mechanically and looked towards Charlie.

Now it was Wonka's turn to worry. "Charlie, are you all right?"

Charlie turned to Willy with a grin, "I'm fine Mr. Wonka. It's just- it was scary."

"I understand," Wonka said. "I really think that they shouldn't have done that to you. They were taking advantage of the situation, and they _knew_ that you wouldn't have any chance of moving away."

"Why did they do that, Mr. Wonka?"

"Because you are a little boy, Charlie. They know that it is preposterous to surround an adult, because an adult has more power. A little boy, on the other hand, does not. So it was very easy for them to surround and attack you with questions, making it nearly impossible for you to leave," Wonka said disgustedly. "But it's all right now. They're gone."

"Yeah..."

_"Sorry if I am interrupting anything, but I need to inform you that we are nearing the Pepper Inn, the hotel that you are going to be staying at," s_aid the driver from over the inter-com.

Wonka clicked the button and replied, "Thanks. Uh, could you tell us if there are any people around the building?"

A pause.

The driver responded, _"Yes. There are some groups of people and some reporters. Why, sir?"_

"Could you... um... Well, could you find some way _around_ them? Both the young Bucket and I would really appreciate it if we would _not_ be meeting these people today."

Another pause.

_"I'll see what I can do."_

"Good."

Charlie thought, _they have people at the hotel too_? How ever did they find out that they were staying at the Pepper Inn? Where did these reporters get this information? Charlie was starting to realize, that some people could be very annoying, and he was hoping that they would be able to evade from talking to the reporters.

_"Mr. Wonka?" _The driver said after a couple of minutes.

"Yes?"

_"I'm sorry, but I will not be able to avoid the crowd. You'll just have to walk through them. Once again, I'm sorry."_

Wonka sighed, something that he and Charlie tended to do a lot recently. "No, no... That's fine. No matter."

Wonka rubbed his temple. "Sorry, Charlie."

"Oh, it's fine. As long as I am near you, everything'll be OK."

Wonka looked forward and straightened his glasses, to be sure that they were still on. "Right."

Charlie looked out the window and saw that they were just pulling up to the Pepper Inn. There were, of course, people and reporters there to get in the way. The car stopped and the driver got out of the limo, and opened the door.

"Come out lad," he motioned to Charlie, who obeyed quickly and climbed out of the limo and stood beside the driver.

Wonka had already opened the door and emerged on the other side, straightening his top hat.

"Well," he said as he turned to Charlie, "let's get this show on the road!"

-----------------

They did it. They got past all of the reporters without much trouble. It actually wasn't nearly as bad as they thought it was going to be. The reporters weren't there to question Charlie or Wonka. In fact, after a couple of minutes they both suspected that they weren't reporters at all. They were only people set up to take pictures of both Wonka and Charlie.

The other people were just fans of Wonka Chocolates, and they just stood their distance, admiring Wonka from a-far. Both Charlie and Wonka found that their second run through the crowds was very easy.

Now they had to get to their room.

"Umm... I'm Willy Wonka, and you have a room reserved for me?" Wonka nervously asked as he spoke to the woman behind the front desk.

She smiled. "Of course."

She turned around momentarily and pulled a key off of a key rack and handed it to Willy.

"Here," she said, "this is the key to your room. It's on the sixth floor, room 601. OK?"

"Okay..." Wonka said, and he examined the key closely. "Um... hey... what does this number mean... 22639?"

"Oh, that. Nothing. I guess it was just the number of the key when they were all made. I really don't know why it isn't 601 like the room it's meant for. But... oh well," she gave a soft sigh then smiled.

Wonka gave a grin. "Yeah. I can understand that. Well, thank you very much, I'll see you later."

"Okay... buh-bye!" She gave a short wave before answering the phone that had been ringing for the entire conversation.

It looked like everything, for once, was going to work out nicely for Wonka and Charlie. They would have a chance to be _alone_ and sort out their thoughts.

"C'mon Charlie, let's boogie!" Willy said with excitement as he and Charlie made their way towards the elevator.

-----------------

"I never really expected their elevator to be like _that_," Willy said, disappointed.

"Well," Charlie explained, "it could be the fact that their elevator doesn't have to go _upways, downways, _or _sideways_. It's just a normal elevator."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"There isn't."

"Oh. That's no fun at all..."

Charlie couldn't help but think that was very amusing. Wonka was going into the elevator, expecting it to be just like his, to add a touch of 'home' to this hotel. But Willy had forgotten the fact that he was the only one that had a glass elevator that could nearly do anything, and that nobody else had one. The defeat was rather amusing, for Wonka seemed to take it as a small child would if they were suddenly denied their favourite ice cream.

"Ah, here it is," Wonka said, pointing at a door labeled: 'Room 106 (reserved for Willy Wonka and company).'

"'Willy Wonka and Company?' What are they trying to do? Advertise the fact that we're are here?" Wonka frowned and pulled off the paper sign, then unlocked the door. "Maybe that's why they knew it was this hotel. I hope not, and I also hope that nobody comes knocking on our door."

The hotel room in itself was very nice. In fact, it wasn't really a room, it was more-or-less an apartment of sorts. It had all the proper necessities of surviving for the next couple of weeks. For it was, of course, a long-term hotel.

There was a small kitchen, a living room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. You could also say there was a 'dining room' too, but it really was an extension of the kitchen. The whole place, in itself, was fairly small, but not _too_ small, also, not too big. Still, for Charlie it was very big compared to the Bucket's house, but _tiny_ compared to the factory.

Wonka looked at it was his hand on his hip in an examining matter.

"Hmm..."

Charlie turned to Willy, "what is it?"

"Something's missing," Wonka said, looking down the hall with furrowed eyebrows.

Charlie looked around, but he couldn't see anything wrong. "What?"

"No bedroom-"

"Yes there is! Right there, see?"

Wonka shook his head, "no... no... I don't mean that. _Yes_ there _is_ a bedroom. I mean... _another_ one. I was hoping after the phone call that they'd sort this all out." Wonka sighed

"What do you mean?"

Willy began to explain. "You see, Charlie, they thought that only _I_ was coming. At least, that's what I _think_ that's what they thought. Anyway, when I told them that _you_ were coming too, they still couldn't book a place with two bedrooms. They said we'd have to make due with just one. That means one bed too."

"So... they only got one bed?"

"Yes." Willy rubbed his temple. "I guess they either forgot you were coming... or... they couldn't get another bed."

How was he supposed to sort this out? He couldn't share a single bed with Charlie! Outrageous! He would have to put up with different arrangements until he could sort out this problem. An idea hit Willy.

"I know," Wonka exclaimed, jabbing his finger in the air in realization.

"What?"

"One of us will sleep on the couch," Willy pointed at the three-seater that was positioned against the wall. "At least, until I get this bed thing sorted out."

Charlie grinned. "All right, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Why not?"

"Cause... I said so."

"That's not a good reason."

Willy looked like he was going to sigh, when his face lit up. "I have a brilliant idea!"

"What?"

"How about this: When it is close to bedtime, we both sit on the couch, then whoever falls asleep on the couch first gets carried off to the bed, and the other sleeps on the couch. Kay?"

Charlie thought this over quickly. It seemed fair enough, though it did seem like an odd idea. "Okay." Then, he shook Willy's hand in confirmation of the idea.

"Good," Willy said with a grin. "Now, let's get our stuff together."

Their luggage had been brought up just before they did, which was probably planned by the companies of AMERICA TODAY and FRIDAY EVENING LIVE, but Wonka and Charlie didn't mind too much. Wonka's reason: Charlie didn't have to help. Charlie's reason: Wonka didn't have to over-exert himself.

So they went on their merry way carefully un-packing some things, and organizing for easy access later. That is, until Charlie caught on to Willy's 'brilliant idea'.

"Hey... wait!" Charlie suddenly exclaimed, dropping his shirt back in the suitcase and looking at Willy with his hands on his hips.

Wonka was hanging up one of his coats in a closet when Charlie suddenly made the outburst, and poked his head around the corner. "What?"

"I can't carry you!"

Willy looked confused. "Why, whatever do you mean, dear Charlie?"

"You said that whoever falls asleep first gets carried to the bed. But the problem is, I can't carry you at all. So, you'd sleep on the couch even if you fell asleep first."

Wonka have a very poorly acted surprised look. "Oh my... I never saw it that way..."

"-And... you can probably carry me, so... that means, you'd _still_ be sleeping on the couch; because you'd carry me off to bed."

Willy just smiled, bent over, and grabbed another coat, then began to hang it up. "Oh well," he said with his grin hidden from behind the closet door, "I guess that we will have to go on with that plan anyways... You can't break a handshake. Especially a chocolatier's handshake. Oh no, that would be a _horrible_ thing to do."

His grin grew wider. "So, I guess that means that you'll have to sleep in the bed no matter what."

Charlie looked at Wonka with slight annoyance. But not at Willy. Charlie was annoyed with himself. How could he _not_ see that it was Wonka's plan all along? He should have thought it out much more clearly. Oh well, he knew he couldn't deny it now. Willy worked so hard on his plan, Charlie at least _thought_ he did, and he didn't want to spoil Wonka's amusement.

"Fine. But I know that you were planning it the whole time," Charlie said with a grin and crossed arms.

He heard a clatter of a coat hanger being hung, and a snug little giggle from behind the closet. "Why ever would you think that?"

Charlie approached the closet. "Because you're Willy Wonka."

"I am, aren't I?" he returned with a sly grin.

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– This chapter was oh-so fun to write, even though I discarded 3000 words in the process. But, never-the-less… it was fun. I really hate some reporters now because of this. Stoopid reporters… -grr- Yes, yes… much fun (like usual.) I hope you enjoy!

**Wonka-Land Info **– More stuff will be in the next chap.

Plane # - Aha! _Two_ people got it. Yup, it means gum. Smart Peoples. I wonder if I did anymore of that kind of thing… -shifty eyes-

Charlie's Dream – No, Lily don't have that personality. Charlie just as her representing the doubt and the reason in his mind. She's just helping him think things though. You gotta love dreams.

Pepper In – I just love the name of this hotel. Yes, it is a long-term hotel, or more or less, a short-term apartment. It's pretty high-class, so both Wonka and Charlie would be comfortable.

Sleeping Arrangements – Just _how_ will they sort it out? –hmm-

**Chapter Eighteen Preview – **What's going to happen now? Willy and Charlie have some free time on their hands. What's better than exploring New Yorks shops? Boy, will this be fun.

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour les reviews mes amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– I thank my beta-er so much, plus, I thank her for saying that this was one of her top favorites too.

**Important Note**: _Please _Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to Gloop, although, I don't think even he likes flames. I think I'll dip them into Chocolate first.).


	19. An Eye for an Eye

(**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

Horray! No more Month-wait updates! MATH IS OVER! WOOO. Sorry. I'll be updateing now, every week and a half, or tri-monthy. I am so gosh-darned happy, and you no longer have to have those stupid waits. (Feels bad for making you wait so long.) Anyway... enjoy!

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: **If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Nineteen Summary **– Willy and Charlie are now in New York... and a smell is in the air. Is it victory or defeat. Plus, Charlie's "uh-oh" sences are tingling. What in the 'hundred levels of Wonka's factory,' is Willy Wonka up to?

* * *

**Chapter 19 - An Eye for an Eye**

A soft smell of something good wafted to Charlie's nose. Whatever it was, it sure smelled good. But did he want to get up? Charlie and Wonka had long since gone to bed, and morning had already come. The sleeping arrangements were easy to figure out, probably due to the fact that Wonka rigged them so that, no matter what, Charlie would have the bed and he would have the couch.

As Charlie began to wake up a little more, there was very audible crackling coming from the kitchen too, and the smell finally became recognized as bacon. For a second, as Charlie was waking from his slumber, he had half-a-mind to think that he could possibly still be at home. But he knew better once he had opened up his eyes.

The hotel's bedroom was very nice, but plain at the same time. It was just an _average_ room, with _average_ decorations. Nothing at all like the rooms that Wonka had in his homey part of the factory. Probably the best thing about the room was that it was decorated with soft reds, oranges, and yellows, making him feel like was waking up to a sunrise. The furniture was made of lovely cherry wood that tied the whole scheme together.

Charlie pushed off the sheets with his feet, and hopped out of bed quietly. The first thing he did was make his way towards where his clothing was stashed in the room, and he began to rifle through them. The room suddenly gave Charlie a jolt of inspiration; so he picked out a Saffron-Yellow/Orange striped shirt and red jeans. The shirt he wore underneath it all, with the collar pulled out, was a nice cream colour, and his socks were crimson.

He looked himself over in the mirror, proud of his colour coordination, and flattened his hair with his hands for a moment, removing the stray tangles and stick-ups that seemed to cover his head. He smiled for a moment, then turned to make the bed.

After a couple of moments, and another quick check in the mirror to see that everything was in order, Charlie left the bedroom behind him, and closed the door.

What he was met with when he entered the kitchen was very different than to what he would think he was expecting. Wonka was _cooking_. Well, he was sure that Wonka _could_ cook, for how else could he have stayed alive in the great factory? Plus, if he _couldn't _cook, he wouldn't have ever been able to create such _lovely_ candies in the first place now, could he? But, it still was rather strange sight to see.

So here was Wonka, whistling to himself, cooking away in the kitchen. There seemed to be many things going on at once, which appeared to mirror the way Wonka's mind, and factory, worked. There was bacon, eggs, toast, sausage (Charlie swore there had to be at least a couple kinds), plus, there was water boiled for what looked like tea.

The smell was wonderful, and as Charlie approached, he couldn't help but say, "Smells really good, Mr. Wonka."

Willy jumped, dropping both spoons that he was carrying, and nearly dropping the mugs. He fumbled for a few moments, trying to keep the mugs from dropping. Once he had control of the situation, and the mugs, he set them on the table, and turned to Charlie with a quaking grin.

"Thank you, Charlie," his voice was cheerful, but his face obviously showed his discomfort for being abruptly startled.

Charlie bent over and picked up the spoons, setting them into the sink. "Sorry, Mr. Wonka. I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"S'okay Charlie," Wonka said as he opened a drawer and pulled out a couple more spoons. "No harm done. Just make sure that you... um, announce yourself more _soundly_ next time. Okie-Dokie?"

"Okie-Dokie, Mr. Wonka," Charlie responded with a grin.

"Good. Now, sit, sit!" Wonka gestured to the table that had been all set out. "I'll be there in a minute, I have to finish up the tea and put the things on the table."

Charlie nodded and sat down, now noticing and appreciating that Willy had set the table neatly, with all the cutlery, dishes, and napkins. Charlie couldn't help but feel bad that he was just sitting there after all of Wonka's hard work, but Willy _had _asked him to sit down, and it did seem that everything was almost done. He'd probably be in the way, because it was a very small kitchen.

Wonka placed a tea bag in each cup, hanging the string over the side nicely. He turned to the eggs and shuffled them, to keep them from sticking, then turned to the sugar bowl.

"Charlie, do you like sugar with your tea?" he asked, taking a spoonful of sugar and dumping it into his own cup.

"Yes please."

Willy smiled. "Of course you do. What a silly question." Wonka put in an equal amount of sugar in Charlie's cup. "Oh," he continued, "do you like your eggs sunny-side up?"

"Yes, please."

"Okies." Willy flipped over only one of the eggs.

After a couple of moments, Wonka came over with the eggs and dumped one on Charlie's plate.

"I wasn't exactly sure what you liked," Wonka said, "so I made a little bit of everything. So you could you try some. Today, it's gonna be a variety! That means tomorrow, you can have what you like best."

Willy then finished up by serving the bacon, the three kinds of sausage, and last, but certainly not least, the tea. Once that it all been over and done with, Wonka sat down in his chair with a sigh, then turned to Charlie.

"There. You can begin," then, happily following his own words, starting eating himself.

The first thing that Charlie did was take out the tea bag, for the tea had steeped enough, stirred it for a moment, and took a sip. He recognized its sweet taste; it seemed to give Charlie a cool breath and cleared his airways. He also seemed to be the tiniest a bit more awake than before.

"What kind of tea is this Mr. Wonka?" Charlie asked, looking at the contents with curious eyes.

"That," Willy responded, taking the tea bag out of his own cup, "is combination Mint tea. I'm pretty sure that it's Peppermint, Mint, Lemon Grass, and Spearmint. Mostly Peppermint though, that's the way I like it. I find that it is just right in the morning, wakes you up without that caffeine jolt. The moment I discovered mint teas, I have been drinking them in the morning ever since."

"It's really good Mr. Wonka." Charlie took another sip.

Willy gave a grin. "Good. Now, eat up quickly, we've got a lot of things to do today."

"Like what, Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka looked up, and repeated his earlier command with a sly grin. "Eat up, Charlie."

-----------------------

Charlie was busy in the kitchen now, clearing up all of the dishes. He insisted, seeing how it was Wonka who cooked the breakfast, and brewed the tea. He had only a slight amount of trouble reaching the sink, for he was just a couple of inches too short to reach properly. But, he insisted on doing it anyway, so he did.

Willy, on the other hand, was getting changed. Charlie hadn't noticed at first, but Wonka had been wearing his pajamas; they were so formal that he really didn't notice that they were not in fact the clothes that he wore underneath his usual attire. Charlie wondered for a vague moment what exactly Wonka was going to wear.

Wonka came into the kitchen, fixing up his gloves. He was wearing something a little more unusual that normal. Instead of the black pants and vest he traditionally wore; his pants were a heavy, almost black, purple, and his vest was a deep indigo. His shirt that was underneath was navy, and his gloves were blue. Willy was the epitome of twilight, which contrasted nicely with Charlie's sunrise.

"Ah. Much better. A chocolatier always feels better once he has his chocolatier clothes on."

"Quite," Charlie said, then he approached Willy. "Do you need help with your clip, Mr. Wonka?"

Willy gave a sheepish grin. "Uh, sure." He pulled it out of his pocked with his left hand, "I can write, I can make candies, but I just _can't_ put this on quite right. Silly, eh?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Wonka," Charlie said while he pinned the pin onto Wonka's shirt. "I can help you put it on until your arm gets better."

Willy straightened up. "Thank you." He turned, and walked into the living room area, and plopped onto the couch gracefully, one of his legs hanging off the edge. "Now then. On to business..."

"But I thought that, since we were here, we wouldn't be doing any work," Charlie stated, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the couch.

Willy chuckled. "No, silly. When I say 'business', I mean, what we are going to do today. So, I say again, 'on to business'."

Charlie nodded. "Oh, I _get_ _it_ now. I see. What _are_ we going to do today?"

Willy turned himself on the couch, so he was facing the ceiling. He rubbed his chin absent-mindedly as he thought. "Hmm." After a couple of moments of thinking, he abruptly turned to Charlie, "I don't know."

"I thought that you had something planned."

"Well, I did. Or... I do. Whatever. It's just, I don't know if you want to or not."

Charlie straightened up a little bit. "Well, let's hear it."

Willy took a breath. "Well, you see, I was at first wondering if we could walk around New York. But then I realized that New York has _people_ in it."

Charlie thought for a moment. He knew for sure that he didn't want to stay inside all day. The hotel was not very interesting, he didn't like to watch TV much, and there just wasn't much to do.

"Well, how about we _do_ go around outside? We'll just-" Charlie paused, thinking, "I dunno. Keep Quiet."

"Keep Quiet?"

"Well, don't mention that you are Mr. Wonka unless someone asks. Um... don't -er- draw attention to yourself." Though, Charlie was sure that the last thing was going to be pretty hard for Wonka to do.

"I _don't_ want attention drawn to myself! I don't try to make people figure out who I am. I don't know, but people just seem to _know_ who I am!" Willy exclaimed with frustration.

Charlie thought, _He's right; no matter what... people recognize him, even though they haven't -seen- him in awhile. I remember! I was thinking about this earlier... It has to be his clothing._

With the idea a-new in his mind, Charlie asked, "Mr. Wonka, how about just for today, you wear something different than your normal coats?" Charlie remembered a past thought he had before they left.

"Why...?"

"Well, people really seem recognize you for what you wear. You know, your coat, and hat, and…sunglasses." Charlie tried to think of any other defining features of his companion's wardrobe. "It's fairly easy to see who you are. How about something a little different?"

Wonka looked at Charlie with interest, obviously thinking it over. "Okay," he finally said, "go on. Like what?"

Charlie searched his head mentally. "How about, a normal coat, that stops only just below your waist. And, um, a grey hat," he motioned with his hand, "like the ones they used to wear a while ago. They have the dip in the top..."

"Yea... I know what you are saying, a Fedora, right?-"

"-and no sunglasses," Charlie quickly interrupted.

Wonka turned to Charlie sharply. "What?"

"Well, they are expecting you wear them. So, if you don't, they won't notice you right away," reasoned Charlie.

Wonka looked back up at the ceiling. _Hmn... Well, it does include a hat and coat... It doesn't seem too bad. But, where in the hundred levels of my factory will I get them?_

Willy turned to Charlie, "Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants, I'll do it, but, where do I get them?"

Charlie made to respond, then stopped. "I don't know." He remembered asking several Oompa-Loompas if they knew what they could do about the sure-to-occur dilemma. They didn't respond, so Charlie was left seemingly clueless.

Well, the plan seemed good while it lasted, and Willy didn't seem to be rejecting the idea either. In fact, he seemed all for it. Wonka just sighed.

"Well, now what?" He said with disappointment, resting his arm across his forehead in bafflement.

-----------------------

Charlie and Wonka had stayed inside for the majority of the morning, and they still couldn't come up to a solution, so they decided to raid the wardrobe that Wonka had brought. At least they could try to do _something_ to 'normalize' Willy's clothing for the day.

As he sifted through the various coats, Charlie said, "Maybe you don't _need_ to change your outfit, Mr. Wonka. I hear that there are a lot of people who dress not as normal as other people, and they still blend into the crowd. Maybe that'll be the same with you." He was trying to see the lighter side of the position they were in.

"I doubt it, Charlie," Willy said. He was standing on a stool, and looking down at the shirts he had neatly folded. "Now that I think of it, not very many people dress like I do. Let's see what the Oompa-Loompa's think."

Charlie stopped and looked up at Wonka, "What do you mean, 'What do the Oompa-Loompa's think'?"

Willy teetered for a moment, holding the suitcase firmly with his left hand, but having no support from his right. Once he regained his balance, he responded, "Yeah. Just before we left, an Oompa-Loompa added a suitcase to mine. So, I suppose I either forgot something, or they were thinking ahead. Oh, I do so wish and hope they thought ahead."

Wonka stepped down, walked over to the bed and sat on it. Charlie had good feelings about this suitcase. Maybe the Oompa-Loompa's knew after all...

"Now, let's see what we have here."

Click. Click. The locks opened and Willy opened up the case.

"Well, I'll be!" Wonka half-exclaimed.

Charlie came over, letting go of the bright-red tail-coat that he was examining, and went to look at what the Oompa-Loompa's had packed for Willy Wonka.

"What is it, Mr. Wonka?"

"A coat, and a cane," he said happily, pulling up the coat. "These Oompa-Loompa's always keep you on your tail. Always have tricks up their sleeves. They seem to know everything."

Charlie just grinned at the 'knowing everything' statement and asked, "How did they keep a cane in there?"

"It's one of those canes that comes in two parts... I think."

Willy pulled out the coat fully, and Charlie noted that it was not all too dissimilar to the coat that Wonka usually wore. It seemed to be a neat mixture between his coat and a trench coat. Instead of a mass of buttons, it had a belt with a few buttons near the top, and it was a moderate gray, instead of his usual florescent fashions. The cane was ebony black, and was ringed with silver at the head and at the end.

"Neat-o. I have never seen these before. They must be new." Wonka looked up thoughtfully for a moment. "I wonder when they got it."

Charlie smiled. He had an idea when. He knew that the Oompa-Loompas were _always_ up to something. Willy was right to say to watch out for them, they did tend to play jokes or pleasantly surprise people at most unexpected moments.

Charlie recalled that one day, when he was out visiting his favorite green sheep Lily, that the Oompa-Loompas seemed very driven looking over papers. Of course, Charlie had been curious over what they were murmuring about, and had assuming that it was about candy. Though when Wonka entered the room, they stuffed the papers behind their backs and shuffled out of the room quickly, giggling the whole way, which only made Charlie curiouser.

The only thing that Wonka did was give them an odd look, then murmur, _"Cacao Beans do the strangest things to little bodies..."_ Just before he went to greet Charlie, Lily and Sunny.

_Now_ Charlie knew what they had been doing. He just chuckled. "Go on, put it on."

Wonka nodded, then stood up and tried on the coat. He decided that, rather than have the right sleeve hang loosely, he'd fit it over his cast, then put the sling on. That way, it wouldn't look so foolish. Charlie helped him with the belt and the putting-together of the cane.

Just as Willy made to reach for his hat, Charlie stopped him.

"No," Charlie said, "I don't think you need it for this. I think you look good without it."

Wonka gave him a funny look, then turned to look in the mirror. Well, it would work at least for the day. It's always good to try new things, at least... that's what Charlie's mother always said.

"Well..." Wonka said slowly, running his hand over his head, "I'll try it for just today. That's it. As long as I get to wear the same stuff underneath."

"Of course," Charlie responded with a grin, "You can wear what you'd like. I was just making a suggestion Mr. Wonka; so are the Oompa-Loompas"

Willy was silent for a few minutes, straightening out the coat, and seeing what it looked like from behind. Then, through the reflection of the mirror, he saw Wonka pull a mischievous grin. Willy turned around, and Charlie couldn't help but worry.

"An eye for an eye," Wonka quoted, still looking at Charlie with the strange look.

Charlie definitely knew that Wonka was up to _something_. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, since you got me in this strange get up, I might as well..." Wonka grinned an almost evil grin, "Dress _you_ up."

Charlie gulped. He knew that Willy would get his own form of revenge.

-----------------------

Both Charlie and Wonka prowled the streets of New York. Charlie had won the battle of keeping off Wonka's hat and sunglasses. But Willy kept the glasses in his pocket, never the less. All Charlie had to worry about now was the fact that Wonka was going to dress _him_ up. He couldn't _help_ but worry; come on, this is _Wonka_ we're talking about here!

"Now, let's see," Willy said, looking at the different shops. "What clothing stores sell clothes for eleven-year old boys?"

Charlie glanced over his shoulder. "I don't know, Mr. Wonka. What if they _don't_ sell clothes for eleven-year old boys?"

Wonka grinned and turned to Charlie, "Ah ha! No getting yourself out of this one, my dear Charlie. Nuh-uh, no-way!" Willy turned back to looking for shops, giving a light giggle. "Anyway, I _reserved_ a store for us. I'm just trying to remember where the silly thing is!"

Charlie scoffed in a pretend manner, then grinned. He was glad that he was having so much fun with one of his favorite people. It was much better than those _other_ times. But he was sure that he wouldn't be haven't another one of _those_ for a while. At least, he hoped. All he could do was wait, and make sure that Willy didn't feel too over-whelmed with all the people in New York. Most important of all, he had to make sure that Wonka didn't _faint_.

But by the looks of how bent on getting his revenge on Charlie Wonka was, he seemed to have forgotten all about the fact they were in a city filled with people. Charlie didn't know whether to be happy of the fact or afraid.

"Now," Willy said, pulling out a piece of paper from one of his coat pockets, "it says here that it is near Main Street, and it's that shop near a bunch of specialty shops."

"Specialty shops?" Charlie asked, curious.

"Shops that have specific merchandise either from a single company, or similar themes," Willy replied, still looking down at the paper in his hands.

"Oh, so like Ficklegruber, Prodnose and Slugwor-"

"_Yes_," Willy responded acidly.

Charlie looked up at Wonka, "Do _you_ have a specialty shop, Mr. Wonka? I know you used to have one, on Cherry Street; it's closed. But do you have one anymore?"

Wonka looked up from the paper and glanced at Charlie, then the shops. "Yes, in fact, I do. It's around here actually. I think it just might be near the store we're going to."

Charlie face lit up. This was _fantastic_; he had never seen a Wonka Shop before. He wondered what it would be like, and if it was anything like the factory. You see, Charlie hadn't seen all of the merchandise that Wonka sold, mostly because Charlie still hadn't seen the entire factory by that time. Plus, the only Wonka candies that seemed to be sold in his small town were Wonka Bars. He wondered if they sold the more exotic Wonka candies in the New York shop.

Willy saw Charlie look suddenly excited, and he couldn't gather why. He _had_ been living in a chocolate factory for a good while now. How would a Wonka Shop measure up to get that kind of reaction?

"Why are you so excited?"

"Well, I think it would be neat to see one of your shops. I haven't ever seen one, except for the one that is closed down near home."

"Well, we do have the factory," Willy pointed out. "Why would you be so excited by a specialty shop?"

"We've left the factory, so... wouldn't it be a little bit like home? You know, like a little bit of the factory in New York so you don't get homesick."

Willy turned to Charlie with a grin. "I never thought of it like that." He looked up in a thinking manner, scratching his chin with his left hand. "Hmm. Maybe we should go there later on today."

"Really?"

"Yea… but _only _when I have finished with my revenge, Kay?"

Charlie ignored the 'revenge' bit and said, "Good! I'd love to see one of your shops, Mr. Wonka."

Wonka just nodded, looking across the street. Then, with a wild grin, he turned to his younger companion.

"Ah ha! Here it is! The shop we're looking for."

Charlie looked, "Ropa and Kleding's Clothing Shop". _What an interesting name, _he thought. When he looked down from the sign, Wonka grabbed his arm and begun to drag Charlie inside of it. Just as he was being pulled inside, Charlie read a sign that was posted on a door that said, "Closed for rent."

The moment they entered a large round man, who bore a handlebar moustache, met them at the door. He was holding one hand behind his back, the other twirling the end of his moustache with care.

He had a relatively smug air about him, and he gave both Charlie and Wonka a grin before leaning forward to say, "_Ah_, _Bonjour! Bonjour Monsieur Wonka!_"

Willy didn't look at all taken a-back with the sudden French. He responded as calmly as if he were speaking to Charlie, "_Bonjour_ _Monsieur_ _Vete_."

The large man smiled and took Wonka's hand with his own and shook it vigorously. "_Comment ca va?_"

Charlie couldn't even guess what they were saying. But he now knew that Willy could speak _another_ language other than English... French. Well, at least Wonka had a good understanding of it. So, he pulled all of his attention to try and understand.

"_Ca va_ _bien_, _Monsieur_," He responded calmly and fluently, with a slight glance towards Charlie, noting his confusion. Then, in English, "I am sorry, Monsieur, but my younger companion cannot speak French as fluently as you or I. So, if we could, speak in English?"

Mr. Vete grinned, "Oh, but of course! I can speak English, and I can speak to your young friend, no?"

Charlie wasn't even sure if English was much better. The man's English was so heavily accented, it almost sounded like French. But, he was thankful that they were no longer speaking in a language only he could not understand, and he felt that he could manage.

"_Now_," said Mr. Vete, "you have called me here to find some clothing for your young boy here?" He gestured to Charlie. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Willy pulled a grin and gave another, much more sly, glance towards Charlie, before looking at Mr. Vete again. "I dunno. Maybe something a little _colorful_, or something _formal_. Hmn... something that he could wear on T.V, and something he could wear just around. Ya'know, something hip and jazzy that the young children seem to be walkin' around in now-a-days."

Hip... Jazzy..? _Uh oh._ Charlie wondering what those two where going to put on him. Charlie suddenly knew how a puppy felt when he was owned by a little girl who insisted that it wore dresses and went to tea parties. He had a feeling that this experience was not so far from that. This was _Wonka_ and not a little girl, and it was Charlie, not a puppy. Not much of a difference.

"_Tres Bien!_ I will see what I can do for you, Monsieur."

"Oh _good._"

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– Haha! I loved typing him cooking, and yes, Willy can speek french. I suppose, why not? He had a lot of free time during his life-time, and if he could learn Loompa-ish, he could learn, squirellish and french... mabye more. If it the french is wrong, blame me and my friend. (I wrote it, she corrected it). Anyways... I shalt be updating tri-montly again! Yay!

**Wonka-Land Info **– More stuff will be in the next chap.

The number thing - Ya'know those number things I did in the previous Chapters? I'll stop now... sorry. But, you were all smart.. so, YAY for smart peoples.

Willy's Clothing - If Willy were to, without his coat, hold his hands above his

head, he would blend just like a twilight sky; ranging from blue, to dark purple. He has a keen sense of style, eh?

He is recognisable - I was sure, that on Halloween, not very many people would know who I was. But, most of the student body did, and I wasn't even wearing his exact cloths and I knew that not everyone had seen the movie. It goes to show that Willy is just a very recognisable man. Clothing wise at least.

Shop on Cherry St - If you look carefully at the normal time-line of the movie (not the flashbacks or the story telling), Willy's shop exists on Cherry St, you can see the large 'w' of the sign. For purposes in the comic, it has long closed down. (Since the factory had opened.)

Ropa and Kelding's Cloths Shop - Ropa is Spanish for clothing and Kleding is Norwegian for clothing. Ha! And a French store owner... Hehe...

**Chapter Twenty Preview – **What did Willy do to Charlie...? What are these letters? It just seems that Wonka can never get away from work... even if he is away from his factory... 

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour les reviews mes amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– I thank my beta-er so much, plus, I thank her for saying that this was one of her top favorites too.

**Important Note**: _Please _Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to my Whizzing Wangdoodles.).


	20. Blue Frills and Reporters

(**Disclaimer**: I do not own Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. At all. So there. ))

It's a miracle! A Miracle! Everyone dance, shout, or _something_. I can't believe I updated just as much as you can't. You have no idea how bad I feel that I haven't updated. To tell you the truth, I have trouble receiving _any_ criticism, and it makes me worry. I have gotten over that slowly, and I am sure that I can handle constructive reviews better. So, no worries to the people who gave me suggestions.

I _will_ update more again. I _have_ to finish this. I _want_ to finish this. My lack of updated is due to the worry that I will fail to end it properly.

Anyway, here's some good news. I re-read my fan fiction at parts and realized that I need to re-write, or at least, revamp the first few chapters. So, at some point, I still have to decide whether it's a separate story or not, I will post re-written chapters of _Being a Big Brother._ The story won't be different, it will just be better-worded, better spelt, better grammar, and have better tie-ins with the rest of the story. Also, I will add in a couple of chapters that will be exploring the factory, or more gaps where they are needed.

Last, and not least, I apologize for the grammar and spelling mistakes that are in this fic. I have checked this over, being that I wrote this _ages_ ago and never updated, and I am sure that it is alright.

To my Beta-Reader – I didn't send this to you because I fear it has been too long. If you would like to pick up on this again, please e-mail or review. Thank you.

**Warning, this Fan Fiction may contain Movie Spoilers: **If you don't like them watch the movie then come back.

**Chapter Twenty Summary **– Poor Charlie. He has to deal with two very unusual people's sense of dress. And, what's more, the reporters are out on the prowl.

* * *

**Chapter 20 - Blue Frills and Reporters**

Charlie was shoved in the direction of a room by an anxious Mr. Vete. Willy just looked at the sleeve of a random garment of clothing with a smirk on his face, thoroughly enjoying the situation. Mr. Vete was rambling on in French, pulling clothing off racks and shoving them into Charlie's arms, before turning him around and pushing him into a change room.

Wonka laughed at Charlie's bewildered expression just before the door was shut. Mr. Vete grinned.

"_I do hope that we find something proper for the boy_," Mr. Vete said in French as he approached Wonka. "_Especially that he is going to be on television. I am sure that what I found will be suitable for him._"

Willy backed away from the garment that he was looking at to look at Mr. Vete better. "_I'm sure that it will be. If it is appropriate, and something that Charlie likes. That -is- the most important part, yes?_"

"_But of course_." Mr. Vete paused. "_Do you - Do you want anything for yourself? We have a wide range of clothes that could fit your taste._" Mr. Vete made a gesture toward the racks of coats that _would_ fit his taste. Attractive frock coats of moderate and extreme hues, several in shades that he did not own.

It was all very tempting, but Wonka shook his head. He did not come here for himself. "_No. I'm fine. I'm here for Charlie and nobody else. Just make sure that you make the proper modifications that I ordered._"

Mr. Vete nodded. "_Of course. I will make the proper modifications, and will be sure that they will fit your taste._"

"_It's Charlie's taste we are satisfying here._" Wonka shook his head when Mr. Vete turned away. The man could be very up-front, and seemed to be more interested in making his adult costumers more comfortable than his younger ones. Or maybe, it was because he was Willy Wonka. A saddening truth that he would have to come to terms with one day, no matter how much he did not want it.

Willy turned to face the change room; Charlie had not left yet. "You okay in there Charlie? You've been in there for a long time."

A moment's pause and then a muffled response, "I'm fine, Mr. Wonka. I'm just doing up the buttons."

Wonka smirked. "I'm sure it doesn't take _that_ long to put on a suit my dear child."

Charlie emerged, he seemed, how could Wonka put it, uncomfortable and unsure. Charlie tugged at the light green collar. He was decked up in a fine deep, almost black, green coat, and black dress pants, the shirt he wore underneath was a light green, and the tie was just plain white. Nevertheless, the whole thing worked together nicely. Especially when the modifications were added, then it would be _perfect_.

"I think you look charming. Fits you nicely. Did you try the other colours?"

Charlie looked up from tugging on the colour. Unsure if it really did look as good on him as Wonka said. "Yes, I tried the other colours, Mr. Wonka. I like this one the best."

When shoved into the change room, Mr. Vete had shoved in a blue, red, purple, and yellow version of the same getup. Charlie thought that the yellow looked dreadful, he did not even try it, and had to think a moment or two on the others. Yet green was, by far, his favourite.

He was not too sure if he liked it at all; it felt strange. He never had anything so formal. The most formal things that he owned were the new sets of sweaters and pants that Wonka bought him for a belated birthday present, and the most formal thing he owned before those were what he wore to the tour of the factory. Charlie was not too sure with what he was wearing now. He just felt silly.

Wonka looked at him with his eyebrows furrowed. "Is something the matter Charlie? You don't look happy."

Charlie smiled back. "Oh, I like it a lot Mr. Wonka. It's just I'm not used to it, that's all. I've never worn anything as formal as this."

"Well," Willy began as he approached Charlie, "if it is any consolation at all, I think it looks very becoming on you and it is perfect for television. In fact, you don't look silly at all! More like a chocolatier's heir than anything."

"That's good."

Willy then got a most particular grin smeared on his face. "Now. On to business, or rather, revenge. Since we had already done our business, the suit, my dear boy, so, of course, we should get on to revenge."

Charlie sighed. "I thought this _was_ the revenge."

"Of course not. Revenge is much more nasty than suits. Don't you think? I think it goes along the lines of vibrant hues and clothes that you wouldn't touch under any circumstances, don't you agree? Why, I think it is only _fair_ is it not?"

Charlie laughed. "I suppose it's fair, since I did make you go without a hat or sunglasses. Just don't dress me up like a girl."

Wonka suddenly looked disappointed. "Darnit," was all he said as he turned to speak to Mr. Vete, leaving Charlie with a peculiar expression. Of course, he was never intending to dress the poor boy up as a young woman, but Charlie's face was worth the comment.

"_Mr. Vete, please bring me some of your more -bright- clothing, if you please?_"

Mr. Vete grinned horribly. Charlie gulped, whatever Wonka said, he might not enjoy it too much.

"Oh, but _of course_."

------

Willy laughed, "You should have seen your face when Mr. Vete put that more-than-a-little florescent yellow suit on you. You looked like a glowing banana!"

Charlie laughed in return, it had been humorous; he responded through tight laughs, "I was in front of a mirror, Mr. Wonka. Of course I saw myself. I thought I looked more like a radioactive lemon than anything."

Wonka placed his hand, with a grin, on his chin in a thinking matter. "True. True. Or like one of my glowing gum-balls. Which reminds me that I have to send an order…"

"It wasn't as bad as that strange black shirt with a horrible pink vest overtop. All of those blue ruffles, and lace on that shirt _and_ vest! I was surprised there was any fabric on it at all! I mean, who would buy that?"

"People with a strange sense of humour, or taste for clothing." Willy paused. "But the hat was nice. A nice top-hat. Much like mine."

"I suppose so."

Wonka and Charlie had spent the majority of a couple of hours inside the shop trying on different clothing. Surprisingly enough, Charlie had enjoyed himself as much as Willy had, and did not mind being shoved into strange and obscure clothing as much as he thought he would.

Wonka, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping his surprise from Charlie, and he could not help to smile whenever he thought of it. So, as a resort, he covered his face, often hiding his smile, or suppressing a laugh. Willy forced himself to focus on the clothing and now what he was going to do.

Much of the clothing had been very strange. However, Charlie had actually liked some things he tried on. Well, he liked some styles well enough, but he could have gone with duller or less clashing colour combinations. So, as a present to Charlie, Wonka had ordered a couple of them in more suited colours for him.

Some things, however, had been dreadful, and ended up with both Wonka and himself in fistfuls laugher on the floor once Charlie had come out of the change room. Like one suit that made Charlie look like a chicken-ostrich more than anything, and a strange horrid pink thing that looked more like a dress than a shirt.

Yet both Wonka and Charlie could only take so much dressing up and fun with the wardrobes. They left after a couple of hours, and were wandering around the streets of New York, yattering on about the clothing in Mr. Vete's cloth's shop.

"What about that coat covered in feathers? It was actually quite nice."

Willy nodded, remembering the deep-red coat covered with small and very fine feathers. There were even tail-feathers at the back of the coat, which made Charlie look like a very _red_ rooster.

"Yeah. However, after awhile, it would look like you were moulting," Willy 'sprinkled' with his fingers. "But yeah, it was nice."

Charlie grinned and looked forward as they walked. Of course it had all been fun, but now he was wondering what they were going to continue their day with. It was already late in the afternoon, and he was sure that they did not go out to _just_ go to the clothing shop, as much fun that that was. He really wanted to see the city. He had heard all about it: all the shops, the famous places, the tall buildings, and the famous landmarks. Charlie wanted to at least see something other the inside of the cloth's shop and the inside of the Pepper Inn.

"Mr. Wonka," Charlie began, "what are we going to do now? I mean, we can't have gone out to _just_ go to Mr. Vete's cloths shop. Could we go somewhere else? Please?"

Willy looked down at Charlie, a contemplating look on his face. A grin crept over it after a moment or two. "Of course Charlie. We are going to be here for a while yet, and there is probably much to see." Wonka paused, his left hand finger tapping on his chin. "How about, my Wonka shop?"

How could have he forgotten? "Of course! I'd love to!"

"Good." Willy pointed forwards. "It should be over there somewhere, down one of those streets if I remember correctly. We're really close. Just look for a golden 'W', kay?"

Charlie nodded. He remembered seeing the shop when they were walking up to the clothing's shop. Though, it was just out of the corner of his eye and on a corner. Of what he saw, it had large glass 'W's' hanging with a gold wire trim, and the outside was a rich plum red. The window had stacks of multi-coloured Wonka wrappers.

"If I remember right," Willy said, "this shop had _most_ of my flavours of Wonka bars. Which is very unusual, you see, because most large stores only hold about twenty flavours, and small shops only a traditional five."

"_Twenty_ flavours, Mr. Wonka?"

Wonka turned to Charlie. "Don't be silly! Twenty is not near enough! I have made over one _hundred_ different flavours of chocolate bars."

Charlie gaped. _One-hundred_ flavours of Wonka bars. _Over_ one-hundred flavours of Wonka bars. Charlie had never seen more than _twenty_ flavours at one time, more-or-less _one-hundred_. He realised that he wasn't paying nearly enough attention to some of the most important things that he should have been. Of course, some things had been very distracting, but that was still no excuse for not knowing a simple fact like that.

After a couple more minutes of talking and walking, Wonka pointed in front of him. "Ah ha! Here it is. My Wonka shop."

Passing all of the various and very colourful candies in the shop's window, Wonka and Charlie entered the shop.

The inside was surprising, very clean and ordered, and definitely gold-themed with accents of red. All of the shelves were gold as well, each stacked high with chocolates and candies, almost in the same fashion as books. The shop itself was very large, no wonder it had room enough for _most_ flavours of Wonka bars.

Charlie made a b-line for the shelves against the wall that housed the Wonka bars, while Wonka retreated to the other side of the shop, glancing everything over, seemingly making sure that all was in order.

Charlie looked across the golden-coloured shelf, examining the candies that were sitting upon them. There were so many kinds of candies. On that shelf alone, Charlie examined at least twenty - no - _thirty_ kinds of chocolate bars.

Wonka was just absent-mindedly looking at the shelves, bending over and just glancing at everything with a slight smile.

The owner of the shop was in mild-shock that _the_ Willy Wonka was in _his_ shop. Well, Willy was really in his _own_ shop, but, the caretaker was still surprised that Willy picked this _particular_ shop to visit. In fact, he was so shocked by Wonka being there, that he didn't say or do anything; he just stood there like a fool with his mouth open, all thought processes gone from his head.

Willy glanced briefly over the top of one of the shelves and grinned for a moment, before ducking his head down again to "examine" the food innocently.

_Minty-Mint Mix, Whipple-Scrumtious Fudgemallow Delight, Nutty-Crunch Surprise, Sugary-Sweet Stupefaction, Coffee-Whipped Cream, Melty-Caramel Marvel, Bubbly Butterscotch Dream, Yummy-Delicious Chocolate Cream_... Charlie just marvelled over the many, many, _many _flavours of Chocolate that the bars that were splayed on the shelf. He remembered that Wonka had said that this shop had more than twenty different flavours of chocolate bar, _all_ of them _different_ from each other. But... there had to be at least _fifty_ kinds there.

As Charlie glanced over the shelf, Wonka, ever so quietly, walked up behind him and put his head only inches away from Charlie's. With a grin, Willy leaned over so his face was level with Charlie's ear, only an inch away. "What'cha lookin' at?" Willy said suddenly with the innocence of a small child

Charlie jumped half a mile, not really expected to have someone sneak up upon him like that. Which was, of course, the point. He whipped around shocked for a moment, but smiled when he saw who it was.

Willy straightened up and fiddled with the glove on his cast-arm, with something reminiscent of a grin, asking like nothing had happened. "Jumpy fellow, aren't you?" He nearly didn't manage to hold-in the laugh at the back of his throat.

"Oh! I was just looking at all of the chocolate bars, Mr. Wonka. I really didn't know that you had so many flavours, sir." Charlie said, recovering from his embarrassing jump. "I guess I had to see it to believe it."

"Well, of course I do! What had I told you outside this very shop?" Willy said is if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. "What did you think? You _have_ been living in the factory for about a month now, how many flavours did you think I had? Didn't you know?"

"Well... I guess I have been spending all of my time figuring out as much as I can about the factory to really remember what exact flavours of chocolate bars you have Mr. Wonka. Sorry."

Wonka made a noise and waved it off, "don't be _sorry_ my dear Charlie! Think nothing of it! I understand that you are too busy learning the way of the chocolatier to be able remember a couple silly flavours of my silly chocolate bars!"

Willy turned to the shelf and bent over again. He began to look down the shelves, pointing out with his finger. Charlie gave Wonka an odd look. A strange suspicion seemed to arise. What was Wonka up to? He couldn't be _that_ happy. It wasn't like Charlie was trying to be pessimistic, but Wonka was acting a little more normal than he was normally, which was rather ironic. Last time Wonka acted so chipper, he was hiding something, and then something bad happened.

A twist of worry suddenly grabbed Charlie's heart. Something wasn't wrong, was there? Did something happen and he didn't know? Was something wrong? Did he do anything to offend Wonka? Willy did seem to become unexpectedly happy after they departed from the plane. Was he just hiding the fact that he was still fuming on the inside, or was it something else? Or was Charlie just worrying too much to be healthy?

"Let me see. It seems that this shop might have what I am looking for..." Wonka's finger stopped a couple shelves down. "Aha! _Here_ it is!"

Charlie was barely paying any attention to what Willy was doing; only worrying thoughts flooded his mind. _Could Mr. Wonka possibly be still mad at me? Did I do anything at the shop? He did seem rather quiet about the whole thing, like he was thinking about something._

Willy grabbed a large box from the shelf. It was about the size of a Wonka Bar but, ten times thicker, and over the whole of it all, it was covered blue with "Wonka Bars" over the top of it.

_Okay... Maybe he isn't upset with me. Maybe it's nothing. But no, it's been "nothing" before._ Charlie shuddered at the memory of the strange flashback Wonka had experienced with him. _Did something happen when I was in the change room?_

Charlie scanned his thoughts. Willy did seem rather odd after he was trying on his coat. He didn't look at Charlie a lot and he seemed to be covering up his face whenever he looked at Charlie. He also had a pained expression as if he was trying desperately hard to hide something from Charlie. But what? What could he possibly be hiding? Did something else go wrong, and he is just refusing to say? It did seem like he was hiding a smile...

"I'll get this then," Wonka said with a grin, box in hand, walking over to the counter, being none the wiser of Charlie's panicked thoughts, and just left Charlie to stand there with them toiling around in his head.

When Willy approached the front desk, the man behind the counter was stalk-still, just as before, not moving even an inch. Wonka doubted the man moved at all during their visit. His mouth was open like a puffer fish and his jaw worked slightly as if it was to say something, but only a high airy noise seemed wheezed out of his mouth.

Willy just rolled his eyes, placing the box on the counter. It was very annoying to have someone stare at you... but to have someone freeze at your presence... it was just strange, and annoying. He would, of course, have to remedy that. Wonka took out his cane and knocked as loudly as he could with it on the edge of the counter, wearing a strange perturbed look on his face, hoping that it would get the man's attention and wake him from wherever-he-was.

The noise snapped the man out of la-la-land and he begun functioning into working order as if his 'stall' never happened. Looking down on purpose, the man grabbed the box on the counter and rung up the price.

"Five dollars and fifty cents, sir," the caretaker said with his head towards the machine, ripping off the receipt and shoving into the bag along with the box. He was making very careful efforts to make no eye contact or even to _look _at Wonka. Not that Willy minded the "not look at" part... "Did you find everything that you needed, sir?" he asked, randomly adjusting the screen on his computer.

"Yes. Everything was here." Willy leant up straight, tucked his cane under his cast-arm and rifled through his pocket on the inside of the breast of his jacket and produced a ten-dollar bill.

"Keep the change," he muttered to the man, as he slid it over to him robotically and grabbed the bag. Turning to Charlie and grabbing his arm, he said, "c'mon Charlie."

When the door shut behind them with a ring, Charlie said, "Why did you buy some candy, Mr. Wonka?"

Willy, who had let go of Charlie's arm, and was in the bag, opening the box, said, "because, my dear Charlie, I didn't bring any, so, naturally, if you don't bring any candy, you must buy some."

Charlie was confused. "You didn't bring any?"

"Nope. Know why?" Wonka asked, looking up. "You see, I didn't bring any because I knew my shop was here, and I didn't want to risk it melting, _or_, getting squished. I might as well buy it, the money just comes back to me anyway." Wonka's nose wrinkled momentarily in disgust, "It's not like I am buying _Ficklegrubers, Slugworth, Prodnose,_ or anything like that."

"Of course not."

"-And," Willy added with a grin while pulling out a bar from the box. "I love Chocolate (but you already know that). _This_ product is my "10 per box chocolate bars." Basically, each box has ten random flavours of chocolate bars. You never know what you are going to get, and you never get the same bar twice. Neat eh?"

Willy turned over the bar, and examined it. "Hmn. _Minty Mint Mix_, a good one. Here, how about we share?"

"Okay."

Wonka gave the bar over to Charlie, "you better open it. I can't really do it," he made slight movements with his broken arm to prove his point, "make sure you break it lengthways, that way we'll each get seven pieces."

Charlie took the bar from Wonka's hand, unwrapped it carefully, and broke it lengthways as Willy said. He handed Wonka back the most intact pieces of Chocolate and placed the wrapper in his pocket.

"Thanks," Wonka said, before shoving a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

Before eating it, Charlie held it to his nose and sniffed it with curiosity. He had never had a _Minty Mint Mix_ before, and wondered vaguely what it tasted like.

Willy swallowed, and looked at Charlie's examining face with one of confusion. "You're not going to find out what it's gonna taste like by _sniffing_ it my dear boy, that's a _different_ kind of candy of mine. Try _biting_ it. Like this," Wonka then took another healthy bite of Chocolate, chewing it with satisfaction. "See? You can taste much better this way," he added after he swallowed.

Charlie laughed out loud, Wonka gave him a funny look, but grinned afterwards.

After a few minutes, and after Charlie took a few bites, looking downward as they walked towards a bench, his face fell again.

"Is-is something the matter, Charlie?" Wonka asked seriously. Charlie was acting weird. He had been acting weird ever since he jumped up and surprised him. He was sure he didn't scare Charlie _that_ badly. He hoped he didn't traumatize the poor boy, but, then, that would be just silly. Traumatized by jumping in shock? Laughable.

The seriousness in Willy's voice caused Charlie to be somewhat startled, he looked up. "No, sir. Just thinking."

"Oh," Wonka glanced over his shoulder for a moment, "It's just you are not up to your talkative self right now. Seems like something is on your mind."

Charlie just grinned for a moment, swallowing the piece of Chocolate _Minty Mint Mix_ that was in his mouth. "Something's always on my mind Mr. Wonka, or I wouldn't be very interesting."

Willy laughed a genuine laugh. "Oh, and I suppose, using that logic, that you _also_ have something on your mind because hair grows on you're head, and there's a skull somewhere under that mop of yours. Because, of course, your hair and skull are all 'on your mind'."

"I suppose so, Mr. Wonka."

"Hmn." Willy gave Charlie a sideways look, "you're _sure_?"

"I'm sure."

"_Absolutely _sure?"

"Absolutely sure," Charlie confirmed.

"Absolutely _positively_ sure?"

"_Yes_."

"Oh good." Wonka looked pleased with himself.

Charlie felt embarrassed. He was worrying so much, that Wonka could pick up on it; and in the process, he worried Willy; which, in turn, worried him. It was a never-ending circle of negativity and worry.

"There you go again."

_ Oops_. Charlie looked up. "Just thinking, Mr. Wonka."

Willy pulled a sarcastic "uh-huh" face, eyebrows raised.

"Look!" A voice shouted from behind them. "There he is!"

Wonka's head whipped around to see a hoard of reporters, camera operators, photographers and even TV Reporters behind them by several yards and approaching quickly, all at a full tilt run. Willy's eyes widened with horror. What were _they_ doing there? He thought that his different clothing would at least keep the paparazzi away. Wonka grabbed Charlie's arm and began to run, dragging Charlie behind him.

"-What? Mr. Wonka, what's going on!?"

"Reporters," his voice much higher and more tenor than usual.

He sharply turned a corner and he vaguely heard the crowd of people calling out where they were going. He dashed down another alleyway, dragging Charlie behind.

After a couple of more turns, and when neither Charlie nor Wonka could run any farther, they both stopped; Wonka let go of Charlie's arm, and they both grasped their knees for a moment, catching their breaths.

"Sorry. Charlie," Willy said between huffs. "I. Hate. Reporters."

Charlie swallowed a couple of times, and waited a minute before responding. He wasn't angry that Wonka had suddenly decided to commandeer his arm and run off with it, he would just like to have a little more _forewarning_ the next time around. He couldn't blame Willy for his sudden and strange reaction, considering what the reporters had been doing and saying lately; but he doubted that what Wonka did would help them at all with their predicament.

"I understand, Mr. Wonka." He peered around the corner of one building. "I think they have gone, either they got bored, or we managed to run fast enough."

Willy straightened as well, absent-mindedly fixing the collar of his coat. "I hope we did. I really don't want a repeat of what happened last time. They can be rather vicious when they don't mean to, and they aren't relentless around children."

Charlie shuddered, remembering when they surrounded him to question him constantly. Only when Wonka decided to change faces and plough through them did they part away from him, and for that, Charlie was thankful. _Very_ thankful. Willy, with the stunt he just pulled, probably kept the same occurrences from happening again.

"There they are!" a thankful and relief-full voice filled the air.

Or not. Wonka paled.

The crowd of people approached both Willy and Charlie, their cameras flashing. A couple of them looked exhausted, red-faced and panting. Wonka didn't turn to run this time. There was really no point into trying to escape now.

Almost as soon as they reached them, they surrounded them, their cameras still going off with bright flashes of light; microphones were shoved into Willy and Charlie's faces, and the reporters dug out their notebooks.

"Mr. Wonka," the questioning began, "what are you doing in the city? Is it true you are going to make a television appearance, or are you here for a visit?"

"I-"

"And are Charlie Bucket's parents here or are you the guardian for Charlie in your visit to New York?"

"He-"

"_Why_ did Charlie Bucket come, and what do you think of the situation concerning your factory and the boy's safety?" a small reporter asked quickly, in a worry that they might not get a word in edgewise.

Wonka began very loudly so that they had no time to interrupt him with more questions that he couldn't possibly answer in time. "_Yes_ I'm going to be on television, and _no_ the boy's parents are _not_ here. I am acting as his guardian as long as they are not with him."

The small reporter piped up again, "could you answer my question please?"

Willy turned to face him. "What was it again?"

"Why did Charlie Bucket come, and what do you think of the situation concerning you factory?" he said, reading off of his note pad.

Wonka paused. A wrong answer could mean disaster. The microphones pressed in closer and the flashes quickened.

"I-" he swallowed. Now, he had to think carefully, and not say anything... stupid. "I am, of course, very distressed of the whole matter." Better not to be too specific, let them figure it out. "And since it concerns the boy as well," he gestured to Charlie off-handed, "he has been asked to come."

The reporters paused, took what Willy said in, and then scribbled down on their notepads viciously. Then, the questions started again.

"What television show will you be appearing on?"

"Will Bucket be there as well?"

"What exactly distresses you with the matter?"

"Why does it concern the boy?"

"What exactly is unsafe about the factory?"

"Why is Charlie Bucket living there? Are his parents there as well?"

"What did you choose to come now, rather than later?"

"Why did you let out the golden tickets?"

"Does this have to do with your competition with the other candy companies?"

The questions went on and on, ranging from the factory, to why they were in New York, to the fact that Willy's arm was still inside of it's cast. He barely had time to answer, let alone think about what he was going to say. His answers came quickly, his mind more focused of ways of escaping or convincing himself that there was _not_ that many people around him. For the most part, it seemed to be working, as long as he stayed focused on one reporter at a time and kept from looking at the cameras that where recording.

Charlie, as Willy was being questions with thousands of questions, was also being put in the spot-light. He too was being bombarded with questions, and he was finding himself, much like before, being pulled away slowly from his companion. Though, he tried to hold his position close to Wonka, and managed to stay at least within ten feet of the famous chocolatier.

"How do _you_ feel with the problems of the factory?" the questions were more slow, still quick, but the permitted a chance to think and to answer.

"I think it's just horrible," Charlie began. He might as well just tell them how he feels. They would be finding out anyway. "I don't understand why all of this trouble has happened over the factory. It isn't unsafe at all. It's just as unsafe as anyone else's home. Only different."

"Just how is it different?"

"It is a factory of course. It's different from a home."

"What do you think about Willy Wonka?"

Charlie smiled. "I think he's wonderful, the nicest man that I have ever met."

The reporter paused and looked at him for a quick moment, then wrote down vigorously down in his notepad. He nodded to Charlie with a smile, tipped his hat then walked away from the throng of reporters; allowing another one to take his place. Charlie watched for a moment until the other cut off his thoughts with questions not to dissimilar to others that he had been asked, all of which he answered to a microphone jammed in his face.

After nearly twenty or so minutes, Wonka was finding that he had finally had enough. He could only stand so much banter from these reporters, and he had given him enough of his personal time and space. They were lucky enough to have gotten _any_ time at all. Willy was lucky that he was getting better at restraining himself from fainting.

Wonka glanced over his shoulder, dismissing a question about his arm. Charlie seemed to be farther back than before, and ever-so-slowly getting farther and farther away from him. He had to be at least fifteen feet away.

Last thing he wanted was a repeat of what happened at the airport. Those reporters were just vicious. "Charlie?" No response, the shouting questions of the reporters were drowning him out.

Wonka turned, completely cutting off another question, and shoved through the gaggle of reporters and laid one had on Charlie's shoulder.

"I think that we must get going," he said to Charlie, though, very loudly, informing them all.

Wonka was feeling a little tipsy, and not because of drink. Charlie looked up at him and Willy felt relief when he nodded in agreement.

Running wasn't going to work. It never worked. So he ploughed through the crowd as he did before, his left hand firmly clasping Charlie's right as he led him out of the crowd. Of course, the reporters shouted after them, questions of why they were going, or some in hope that they would get some final answers before he left, but they did part to make way for them. Wonka ignored the reporters completely and dragged Charlie along until they turned a corner. Surprisingly enough, nobody followed.

"I think," Willy said, as soon as he was _positive_ that they would not be following any longer, "that we should go back to the Hotel, and have a rest."

Charlie couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

**Authors Thoughts **– This was typed a while ago, and my style of writing has changed quite a bit. Much better, in my opinion. But, never the less, I will update! Just, I can't say how quickly yet. (For _sure_ no year-long gaps.)

**Wonka-Land Info **–

_Minty-Mint Mix, Whipple-Scrumtious Fudgemallow Delight, Nutty-Crunch Surprise, Sugary-Sweet Stupefaction, Coffee-Whipped Cream, Melty-Caramel Marvel, Bubbly Butterscotch Dream, Yummy-Delicious Chocolate Cream – _Just some made-up flavours mixed in with the Candies from the movie. I wouldn't mind having a Sugary-Sweet Stupefaction.

_Over one-hundred flavours_ – Yup. I think Wonka would manage that. I think also, somewhere in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book Wonka mentions he has a lot. He will have 250 or so in this story in particular. Maybe I'll name more later.

_This Chapter_ – I HAD posted this chapter a while back. But, I pulled it and re-wrote it entirely. Now, I am re-using elements from the old version in this chapter and the next.

**Chapter Twenty-One Preview – **What are they going to do to relax a little. Finally, a break from stress to just be themselves. Well, they _hope_.

**About the Reviews **– Merci pour les reviews mes amies!

**My Beta-Reader **– Please E-mail or Review me if you'd like to continue being my beta-reader.

**Important Note**: _Please _Review. I want to know if any of you liked it. Plus, I may feel like updating faster if I know that people actually read what I write. (No flames... I'll only feed them to my Whizzing Wangdoodles.).


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